Mortal Coil
by JJOAS
Summary: A Bewitched witch gets reincarnated as Carol Peltier. The year is December 2000, and the height of the end of the world is 2010. Just a drop in the ocean causes ripples of change. Pairing: Daryl x Carol AU ZA: Character ages will not all be the same. The walker virus is different. Not everyone in the story that died on the television show/comics will die here.
1. Prologue

Pairing: Daryl and Carol

AU ZA: Character ages will not all be the same. The walker virus is different. Not everyone in the story that either lived or died on the television show/comics will live/die in the same way.

Premise: A Bewitched witch gets reincarnated as Carol Peltier. **The year is December 2000, and the height of the end of the world is 2010.** Just a drop in the ocean causes ripples of change.

AN: I do not own the Walking Dead, Bewitched, or any magical phrases or spells that you may read within this story. All I own is the premise, my original characters and how this all plays out.

 **Prologue**

Radiant pin pricks of light winked and twinkled, interspersed in an ebony sky.

A solar flare licked at the Earth's slowly deteriorating ozone making the air taste like brimstone. Freezing winds whipped against the crumbling ruins of a once beautiful city.

Eleanor's chest ached as the air burned her lungs with every shaking breath. The air felt too thin now. It didn't look like there would be much time left for her now.

She morosely recalled how in her youth, the air had felt sweeter, cooler, fuller, and crisper. How life used to thrive on this stupid rock, once upon a time.

She weakly wheezed in another ashy breath. Her mind desperately tried to block out the frigid temperature. She furiously ignored the blue tinge her hands had taken, her burning throat, and her gnawing gut. There wasn't much else she could do right now.

She reminisced about her life, and the path that led her here. To this tiny dingy bed. In this decrepit, crumbling, and abandoned nursing home. One of the many ruins she'd stumbled into for some scrap of sanctuary.

A bitter sweet smile tugged at her dry lopsided mouth. Reminiscing about the past always made the unbearable pressure against her chest abate, for a moment at least. It made her forget the shadow of death that clung to her like a second skin.

Eleanor used to be magic. She used to have power. Power that could've saved them. Alas, hindsight was bitch.

She had handed over her reality bending powers to the Witches council for mortality. To live, love, and die with her family. She didn't think that she would be the last one to die. And certainly not like this...

Eleanor had hoped that while her family grew around her, in her declining age, that she would die peacefully in her sleep alongside her husband. Ideally, they would've also been surrounded by their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Alas, life was never that kind to her.

After she had been granted her "mortality", her husband suffered a heart attack. It was just a day or so before they could celebrate two decades of being married to one another. It was a shitty anniversary, to say the least.

Another shuddering cough overtook her. Pain shot through her chest like roots darting in the ground. Eleanor's squinty blue eyes prickled with thin tears as she thought about her lost loved ones.

She wiped away the blood that had splattered out of her mouth against her almost skeletal forearm.

There was no food or water in this abandoned relic of a place either. The looters and raiders had probably taken everything that had been worth taking. She'd been too late. Again. She'd felt like she'd always been too late nowadays.

Pain and nausea pierced through her making her feel numb. Nothing was left in her, but the images of her loved ones kept coming. Broken bodies. A fire that ate away at everything. Monstrous faces and dirty hands tearing at people she couldn't protect, and blood... Too much blood. So much pain. With each child, family member, and friend that she had to bury, her heart broke bit by bit, piece by piece.

Now at a creaking one hundred and five, she was the last of her line. Her mortality felt like a bad joke that left a sour taste in her mouth.

She hoped with all her heart that she would find her family in the next life. If there was such a thing. All the things that she had experienced in this life time, made her spine tingle in distress.

 _Was there even a God? And if so, why leave everyone in this hellhole? Why? Why did her family have to ripped apart? Why her babies? Why did they-?_ She slammed her eyes closed as a strangled cry slipped past her lips. She forced her mind to freeze. It wasn't time for that. Not now. Not yet. Despair could wait.

She idly spun her well-worn wedding ring around her wrinkly skeletal finger. Wheezing, she brokenly hummed a long forgotten love song to comfort the ongoing burning that tore at her back of her throat. Her somber melody echoed against the crumbling walls around her as her eyes fluttered shut. Darkness consumed her as her heart spluttered its last beats.

A dazzling comet shrieked across the curtain of darkness as Eleanor's life seeped away. As it darted past her cooling corpse, it flashed a brilliant azure then gold. It blinked out of this universe and into another, leaving none the wiser.

xixixixixixixixix

Carol Mason blinked away the tears that gathered in the corners of her eyes, as she brushed back her short thick red hair.

Ed gave her a disgusted sneer as he drunkenly ambled back through their living room towards the front door. There was not even an ounce of regret on his face. He didn't think that he was in was wrong, even though he had just beat his fiancée into a bloody pulp on their kitchen floor.

Sophia's cries echoed out of her nursery, unknowingly aggravating her already temperamental father into slamming the door behind him.

Carol blinked away the onslaught of new tears, and winced as she gently touched her head. Blearily, she noted that blood was splattered on her hand when she brought it to her face. With the sight of blood smeared on her hand, combined with her daughter's anguished cries, Carol faded away into the darkness that edged her vision with a loud thump.

Her heart slowly puttered to a stop. Breaths stolen, by the pain that shot through her. The hidden aneurysm lodged in her brain loosened, it was probably because she had to endure another violent beating.

Her last thoughts were of her daughter's cries, and how once upon a time she had imagined a story where she wasn't the damsel, the victim. She was brave once. She didn't feel brave anymore. Her soul's final yearnings called out to the universe as it faded away, and _this time_ the universe answered.

A familiar comet screamed through the sky appearing out of a small tear; one that closed up as soon as it had opened, in this universe and with it an unlikely passenger before dissipating into the atmosphere.

Eleanor's errant soul was unceremoniously dumped into Carol's still warm body with all the grace of a stumbling calf.

Carol's eyes ripped open. Her blue eyes dilated before sharply focusing. She bolted upright as her heart galloped again at the sudden impact of a new soul and magic merging with this new mortal body.

Her suddenly unbound magic went to work on her concussion, aneurysm, and the other wounds she had sustained. It twisted and surged through her veins and arteries, pulsing under her skin.

She tilted her head as she heard the pitiful cries of a baby nearby and wearily got up off the ground. The height difference was new, as was the sudden overall change, but Carol didn't really notice that at the moment. At the current moment, her bleary thoughts were focused on the cries of that child. She hobbled up the slightly familiar stairs and winced from the pain that seemed to radiate from her ribs.

 _What happened to me again?_ Her magic was quickly trying to heal what it could in this new vessel, but it certainly wasn't instantaneous. It left Carol feeling like she'd been hit by a train.

As the whimpers and quiet cries of a child got louder she knew that she was getting closer to the source of the noise. Opening up a door with a glaringly pink name, Sophia it had said, she paused. _Didn't I have a daughter named Sophia once?_ She shook her head and pushed the door open. In the middle of a threadbare brown crib, sat a little eight-month old baby with tear streaks a mile long.

Carol swept into the room, as a sudden familiarity hit her, and scooped up the little girl, who she assumed was her child. She cooed sweet comforting words into her still developing head. Sophia looked at her mother and calmed down into hiccups, clinging onto her with her tiny baby hands in a vice grip.

Carol's mind finally cleared. And as she looked around her, while she bounced on her heels calming Sophia into a quiet lull, she noticed everything was wrong. _This doesn't look like the nursing home I had fallen asleep in._

She turned and found her reflection. A young non-malnourished injured redheaded woman looked back at her. Blinking in confusion, she yelped, "THE FUCK!?"

xixixixixixixixix


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter one: Apparently There Is Life After Death**

Carol bit back another slew of curses that threatened to burst past her lips.

Her first exclamation had set off Sophia into another crying fit. She bounced on her heels and gently shushed the baby in her arms. _Was this all real?_

Carol kept stealing glances at the mirror trying to reconcile what she could remember with what she was seeing right now. She was much taller than she was previously, and willowier than she had ever been before.

A full heart shaped face stared back at her, it's face looked shocked and a little horrified. Doubts crept on the edges of her mind.

 _Was I dreaming or did I somehow die and end up here? Did that mean there wasn't a heaven? Were my family's souls here? I wish I knew what the fuck was going on..._

She had sort of believed in reincarnation in her past life, but she didn't think it would happen this fast. _Didn't reincarnation take a hundred years or something?_ She closed her eyes and hummed a familiar tune to calm the baby in her arms, as she tried to figure out what to do. _I_ _even sound different... I must be reincarnated then. I mean, I was a witch once. Anything is possible...Isn't it?_

As far as she could tell, _this woman…Carol…or was **she** Carol now?_ She shook off the confusion that threatened to overwhelm her as she tried her best to focus.

 _I guess I'm whoever this person is now...Is that how this works?_

She looked around, as if looking for a sign that this all wasn't a strange dying delusion. Nothing popped out to her and Carol decided to put a pin in that thought.

When she felt the baby's steady deep breathes, she stilled her ministrations and took in a deep breath. The air felt so crisp, so full, and so clean. That thought resonated with her. Her almond shaped eyes widened as she took carefully hurried steps towards the nearby window and peeked outside.

 _There were **trees**! **Living** trees! The sky didn't look like a gray smoldering sheet of ash and instead looked to be a clear brilliant blue. Were those **actual** fluffy white clouds? Holy shit! I think I just saw an actual crow. A real living animal that wasn't mutated and frothing at the mouth. _

She shook her head again and let air escape between her teeth.

Carol, _or was she still Eleanor?_

Carol clucked her tongue quietly and decided that since she didn't look like herself and this obviously wasn't a dying Earth Terranova in the year 3097, she _must've_ been reincarnated. This had to be the answer, otherwise none of this made any sense. She was certain of this since she knew that she _must've_ died before, but the hows and the whys of how in the world she got here still remained.

Deciding to figure it all out later, she searched through this body's unfamiliar memories. The onslaught of feelings, images, and thoughts that came at her made her almost stumble and drop the baby. Luckily, this body had fairly good reflexes when it came to its daughter. Carol blinked open her eyes as a deep frown furrowed her face into a grimace. She did _not_ like what she found…at all.

As she noted that the baby had finally fallen into a calm deep slumber, _Sophia was her name_ , she gently set her down onto her back into her crib and backed away quietly. She made her way back towards the mirror and stared at the woman reflected back at her.

 _The abused beaten fiancée._

Carol grimaced and ground her teeth. She'd never felt that sort of helplessness, fear, and self-loathing before and she hated it. Absolutely hated it. Carol, _new Carol she decided_ , wasn't going to put up with this bullshit. Never again.

She spotted the dried blood that was still smeared on her head. Her body felt moderately healed, and she concluded that her magic was healing this body nicely. Her vision was becoming startlingly clear as the minutes ticked on by. Carol felt a faint smile curl against her lips, causing dimples to indent her cheeks.

 _When was the last time this body had smiled?_ It felt stiff and odd to her. With that thought in mind, she resolved to be happier than the previous soul that had been housed in this vessel.

She slinked out of her daughter's bare nursery, _she missed having a baby_ , and started snooping around this unfamiliar house. The house was bereft of any feminine touches, color, warmth, and any indication that either Carol or Sophia lived here photo wise.

A disturbed frown marred her face, as she pawed through the personal affects that she found.

She found passports, id cards, a driver's license, and the like tucked away in one of the bedroom's dressers. They all triggered flashes of memories that hadn't belonged to her. 'Old Carol' appeared to be around twenty-one if what she could tell from the calendar and driver's license weren't lying. It still blew her mind that she was more than a thousand years back in the past.

While she was snooping around, Carol heard someone stumble loudly through the hallway. Panic gripped her heart and froze her limbs. The stumbling and angry grumbling became louder as the source of the noise drew closer and closer to where she was.

She frowned at the papers that peeked out of the brown envelope in her blood speckled hands, and sighed before she reluctantly placed them onto the neat cold bed beside her. _I suppose I should figure out what that strange noise is_. With a determined furrow of her brow she straightened up and slunk towards the stomping that seemed to grow angrier the closer she got.

Carol crept into the hallway and saw a red faced man stomping around through an open bathroom door nearby. A sudden flash of fear and anguish washed over her as an onslaught of past memories of abuse flashed behind her eyes. A startled gasp unwillingly escaped past her lips, as Ed turned his beady angry eyes onto her.

Ed's scowl deepened as he slurrily growled, "Don't look at me like that, you worthless bitch!"

Carol recoiled at the words, but the fear that initially shook her boiled into anger when she caught sight of Ed's mean smug smile. She did the first thing she used to do when she got to the boiling part of anger in her past life. She got _even_.

Carol shook herself and hissed, "Shut the fuck up, you fat sad excuse of human excrement."

Ed's eyes widened and he froze for a moment. The sheer shock of Carol actually possessing a back bone, threw him for a loop.

Before he could give her his customary wallop for anything he disliked, Carol snapped her fingers. In an instant, his body twisted, crunched, and shrunk into a disgusting yellow green toad. If toads could be confused, then Ed was certainly pulling it off.

Her heart pounded against her chest. A surge of active magic rushed through her body, and made her stumble back against the door frame. Carol exhaled a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding, "I can actively use magic again?"

The thought of the Witches council raining down their wrath on her for using her magic against a mortal pinged at the back of her mind. Images of being captured and punished flashed across her mind. Anger and surprise fogged up that wary side of her mind.

The toad let out an angry croak, and Carol instinctively put her hand out in front of her, unknowingly freezing him in his spot. She blinked rapidly and sighed deeply, "I guess I can."

She listened for Sophia's cries, just in case this commotion had woken her up. Silence echoed throughout the house, save for their quiet breaths. Carol combed her hand through her short hair, and then placed the heel of her hand on her forehead. She closed her eyes and lifted her heels expectantly. Just feeling the beginnings of flight had always calmed her down as a child, but nothing happened.

A frown marred her face as she tilted her head to the side, "Huh. Why am I not floating?" Her heels made a quiet thump against the worn hard wood under her feet. _Maybe I need a broom now?_

She rolled her eyes and tried to start the feel and pull of teleporting that usually helped center her, before the binding anyways. Again, nothing happened. She let out a frustrated huff of annoyance, "Really? Nothing? The hell..."

Carol puffed out her cheeks and let air hiss through her teeth before crossing her arms, "I guess I can only do a fraction of what I could do before. I mean it makes sense I guess... Reincarnation must come at some sort of cost, probably. And if the Witches Council hasn't popped in here to punish me, they must not be a thing here. So I guess...all this is must be some other dimension or something... Yeah. That must be it."

Any other explanation was lost to her at the moment. Figuring that she probably couldn't do half of what she could before, she concentrated on what she thought she could do at the very least.

She turned back to the frozen toad on the ground, "You are no longer Ed Peletier. You are a toad. Forget it all and become blank." Hypnotism type brainwashing wasn't her cup of tea, but it usually worked in a pinch when she fucked up this way.

Ed the toad continued to glare at her.

Seeing that her intended magic did nothing once again, Carol rolled her eyes, "Huh. I guess this is out too. Well... Whatever. Look here you stupid abusive fuck wad, I am no longer going to be your personal punching bag. I won't have it. And you will NEVER lay a hand on me or my daughter ever again. Have fun in the void, asshole."

With that, she snapped her fingers and vanished him with a pop. Carol let out a hysterical little laugh, "Thank God, that still worked."

She stared at her hands in quiet contemplation before shaking it off. She figured that she could deal with her swirling thoughts and questions later.

 _First things first. I wasn't an expert on ancient history so I have no clue what the currency here is or what anything is really like. I mean yeah, back when I was dying it was all shit and no technology really worked either, but I certainly don't expect it to be all flying cars, and nanobot hospitals **now** …right? _

Carol sighed and bit her bottom lip before switching on the other bathroom light and staring at Ed's swath of clothing on the ground. An old leather wallet, one that looked better taken care of than she did, peeked out from an overly large pair of dark brown pants along with a ring of keys that lay beside it.

She squatted down and narrowed her eyes at it before warily picking up both the wallet and keys. She fingered the leather in wonder. In the future, this material was more likely to be made out of fungi than _actual_ animal skin.

Carol carefully flipped it open. It revealed an unsightly picture of Ed on his driver's license, a rather lewd picture of a very young woman who obviously wasn't her, a wad of twenty dollar bills, fifty dollar bills, a single hundred dollar bill and a lot of five dollar bills crammed beside two visa debit cards. She hummed as she stared at the contents of the wallet in wonder. It all really seemed odd to her, back in her past life, the use of hard currency had died out a long, long, long time ago.

She stood up and straightened herself out. Carol slipped out the money and cards before carelessly tossing the wallet, and the other contents within it, over her shoulder. She gingerly placed the currency onto the bathroom counter and snapped her fingers, a slight bit of hesitation in her movements. _Please. Please, work._

The ten twenty dollar bills quadrupled, the six fifty dollar bills doubled, and the fifteen five dollar bills tripled leaving her with far more cash than she had anticipated. She frowned and pulled on the magic she felt swirling in her and held out the palm of her hand before wrinkling her nose. With a quiet pop, a full stack of hundred dollar bills appeared on the palm of her hand. She placed it by the other stacks of cash, a mischievous grin tugged at her lips.

A quiet happiness filled her as she felt for the first time in a long time that she finally had money of her own. Money that Ed wouldn't be able to do anything about because he was finally gone. At that thought, her new conscience picked at her.

 _I shouldn't feel bad for vanishing that waste of human excrement...He did all those horrible horrible things to me and smacked Sophia every time she cried too loudly...why do I still feel bad then? It's not like I **directly** killed him in cold blood. The void of space is a more merciful punishment than he deserves. _

Carol grimaced at the new feeling of guilt that gnawed at her, and did her best to shake it off. It's not like she could use a rewind spell to fix it in any case. If she couldn't teleport or float, then she definitely couldn't use more complicated magic. It probably meant things like incantations, complete regeneration, or other complex pieces of magic were out too.

With that thought she stared at her new, at least to her, face and squeezed her eyes shut before shaking her head rapidly.

Fearing that nothing had happened again, she peeled open one eye and peeked at her reflection before opening both eyes in awe. Her hair, short and jaggedly cut, as though someone with a sharp knife had cut it off in a fit of anger, had grown down past her shoulder blades.

She was still bruised looking, far too thin, and her clothes looked as threadbare as her clothes did back in 3097, but now at least she didn't look like a training hairstylist's failed project. She pulled on a long loose auburn curl and watched it bounce back as she let it go.

A soft smile pulled at her lips making her blue eyes sparkle for once, "I guess I can't change my face, but at least my hair looks okay now."

She tiptoed back into the almost empty nursery and peeked into Sophia's crib. Despite all the trouble outside her room, she remained fast asleep. Carol's face blossomed into an adoring smile as she pressed a gentle kiss onto her baby's forehead before retreating back into the hallway. _No one will ever hurt you again, sweetheart._

She meandered back into the bright bathroom and kicked Ed's cloths into the corner by the toilet. Her reflection caused her to pause once more. It really was jarring. Carol did her best to shake it off. Much like in her past life, she either had to adapt or die.

Slipping out of her tattered clothes, she turned the shower on and hopped in. Carol was determined to sort out the memories and images that kept hammering into her brain before dealing with anything else. Once in the shower, with the hot water cascading all around her dampening her worries, Carol finally felt like she could take a breath. The heavy weight on her chest that kept baring down on her slowly dissipated.

She stared up at the ceiling and hummed quietly after looking down and noting all the various scars, bruises, and burns this body had to bare because of Ed. She finally noticed the dinky ugly engagement ring on her left hand and scowled.

 _I know it's her memories, but I can't help but feel the anger that she felt when Ed said that her parents, **my parents now too** , rings were too old, too unposh, too much like me for it to be okay to wear. This replacement sucked and I know exactly what to do with it. _

With an irritated huff she tore off Ed's stupid engagement ring and let it plop down the bathtub drain, "I hope a gross rat finds it and makes it into a fucking crap crown." She cleaned herself and shut off the shower, before getting out and drying herself with a clean towel off of a nearby bathroom shelf.

The cards on the bathroom counter, beside the piles of money, caught her attention while she was drying her hair and brushing her teeth. With a toothbrush stuck in her mouth, she took a closer look at them. A sudden memory pulled at the forefront of her mind.

It was a memory of Carol and her father at the butcher shop that they had owned back when she was a little girl.

A man had paid with a black visa and her father had let out a long low whistle. Little Carol looked up at her father in wonder, "What's so special about that black card, daddy?"

Her father's warm eyes smiled at her as a grin tugged at his lips, "It means that customer that walked out has so much money that it doesn't matter what we charge on this card because it has that big of a limit. Rich rich people stuff, princess."

"Does this mean that we can charge whatever we want?" She pulled the card closer and inspected it with all the curiosity of a six-year-old.

A loud guffaw left her father's lips as he shook his head, "You say the darnest things, Carol sweetheart. You can't do that because it's stealing. Now you must never forget, don't ever steal. Okay?"

"Okay, daddy," she nodded solemnly and gave her father back the shiny unlimited visa.

"Pinky swear?" A mischievous look appeared onto her father's face as he held out his pinky. He knew that his darling daughter would never go back on a pinky swear.

Her little pinky wound with his large one and as they shook on it she nodded and declared, "Pinky swear."

As the memory faded, Carol finally noticed that tears had been leaking down her cheeks. Her breaths came out in short gasps.

They were dead and gone. This body's parents were dead too. The acute pain of recalling how she couldn't be at their funerals because Ed said that there wasn't enough money. Not enough to get to Tennessee, anyways. She had never gotten to say goodbye, that had torn her apart even more than the beatings.

She felt a deep anger burn in side her gut. Anger, at both herself and Ed. Carol stomped on the ground, and ground her teeth so hard that she thought they would crack, before barely managing to pull herself together.

The two distinctly black cards stared back at her from the counter. Carol took in more steadying breaths of air, before coming to a startling conclusion. Neither of them belonged to Ed. Her sudden anger fizzled into a deep confusion, "Did you steal too, you fucking shit head? You couldn't just stick to adultery, child abuse, and domestic violence could you?"

She shook her head. Ed was truly the scum of the Earth. She pulled on another towel tightly around her as she spat out the toothpaste and rinsed out her mouth.

Gathering up the cash, cards, and her moth eaten clothes, she made her way to what she assumed was the master bedroom. The files that she had carefully put on the bed still lay there. She noted that she would have to look through them at some point. Information would be an immense help transitioning into this new life.

The cards both said other people's names. Both were probably from mega rich people that Ed had stolen from, probably from one of the many bars around Douglas, Georgia. That thought alarmed her. What if they were gang people? Like _raiders_... She and Sophia would definitely have to get out of here either way.

The early morning light streamed through the crack of the master bedroom window. It was almost as though it were reminding her that the day was still starting and there was still time.

"Well, I better figure out if I can transfigure this shit," she muttered to herself. Carefully, Carol placed the money down beside the large brown envelope, before taking a seat onto the foot of the bed.

She held one card in her hand and snapped her fingers. The name on the card twisted and morphed from Jeffery Lorberbaum into Carol Suzanne Mason, whilst the numbers disappeared before reappearing in a different sequence.

A lopsided grin spread across her face. She pulled out the card and hummed under her breath. Two of these cards seemed unnecessary, in her opinion. With that thought in mind, she tossed the card into the air. Snapping her fingers as it fell, it vanished into thin air.

She placed her new card on top of the rest of her money hoard, and let herself fall back onto the bed with a soft thunk. A long relieved sigh escaped her as she stared up at the white popcorn ceiling, "At least now I don't have to worry about money. It'll make leaving here much easier."

The chime of a nearby clock caught her attention. She lolled her head to the side and stared at it, "Huh. It's only 8 am. I wonder when Sophia'll need to eat. It doesn't feel like I'm breast feeding since my boobs don't seem to feel sore at all. Hmmm…"

She turned and tilted her head back to look at the ceiling, "I guess I should get going." A little grunt escaped her lips as she pulled herself up into a sitting position. This body wasn't as strong as her previous body had been when it had been twenty-one.

Making sure to put the big brown envelope under her new collection of wealth, she slid open the closet doors and stared at the wardrobe that was supposed to be hers. Ed's luxurious threads shone beside the worn tattered rags that pretended to be clothes. A scowl scrunched up her face as she gathered everything that 'Old Carol' had owned. With a grunt and a grimace, she dumped it onto the edge of the bed with a thump.

"I can't believe how shitty he treated me…well not me, but sort of…ugh. Still, I hate, hate, him. I'm glad I vanished that twaddle cock," she huffed and pulled out the other clothes from the dresser. She bit down on her lip, a furrowed frown scrunched up her face as she gazed down at the pile in front of her.

"I refuse to the wear rags that Ed 'generously' gave me because I couldn't be trusted around males…Ha! He was the one that was cheating with that slutty girl child in his wallet," Carol rolled her eyes at that memory. Suddenly, she felt a new sense of purpose. She'd make what she had into the clothes and accessories that she had wanted to wear, but never could. Clothes that she had wanted before this life.

"I'm done getting stomped on. I will never live like that again," she murmured to herself. Her promise reverberated inside of her. The words seemed to reassure herself that this was truly what she was going to do. Her resolve bloomed.

With a twist of her wrist and a snap, all the clothes and undergarments were perfectly folded and changed from their wore torn appearance. Accessories popped into existence. Instead of looking like a wallflower, she'd look like how she wished she could've back when her parents were still alive. All earth tones with an English country side vibe.

Carol pulled on a dark grey chunky sweater to stave off the winter chill, and to cover the still healing bruises on her body, after slipping on the non-granny like underwear. It felt nice to actually have things that fit and pushed up, rather than letting the girls sag in an ill-fitting bra.

She spotted a grey skirt and grinned before happily slipping it on as well. Ed had hated it when she wore skirts and dresses. He had said it had made him feel as though she were tempting others into taking her away from him. Like clothes were really a neon sign that stated she would just hop off and become an adulterer like he was.

If she could roll her eyes any harder, they'd probably get stuck that way. After pulling on a set of woolly socks, she spotted the one pair of shoes that 'Old Carol' had owned. A worn set of shoes that, at first, she had thought belonged to a doddering old lady.

"Seriously? Even the shoes, jezze," shaking her head at the silly situation she snapped her fingers and the grandma shoes morphed into a set of sturdy warm waterproof leather boots. With another snap of her fingers, she got the other shoes that she had always daydreamed of having one day.

A mischievous smile tugged at her lips before she shrugged and murmured to herself, "I know it's not that practical to have this many shoes, but it's not like Ed's here to stop me from getting what I want now."

With that resonating thought in mind, and unheeding as to how much magic she really had in this body, Carol started to conjure things willy nilly. She conjured up jewelry Ed had forbidden her from wearing with a threat of a harsh beating. Beautiful baby clothes appeared out of thin air, baby clothes that he had said that would be a waste since babies didn't need more than two onesies. Baby essentials like a stroller, a new car seat, and other baby things appeared. Things that Ed had said that they didn't need because Sophia would just stay home. And suitcases, something that she was never ever allowed to have, popped into existence beside it all.

Sweat gathered up on her brow causing her to frown. It was almost 9 am. Almost time for Sophia to wake up and have breakfast. She felt oddly tired and hungry after all that work, and a small pit of dread gathered in her belly. _Could she not cast forever without a worry? She couldn't do more than half the things she could've before, so it was probably likely that she couldn't go on endlessly with magic either._

She let out a deep sigh and sat down amongst the many things she had conjured, "I guess that's all I can do for now, but I do kind of want to try one of those ancient fast food things... 'Old Carol' had loved eating fast food…"

Carol licked her dry lips and frowned before deciding that it was worth a shot, "At the very worst…nothing will happen. It won't hurt to try."

She snapped her fingers again and a tray of McDonald's breakfast food along with a tall metal thermos full of water appeared on her lap. The smell of food wafted into her nose and made tears gather in the corners of her eyes, "Oh…I missed this too…"

The ice cold water that she guzzled down, made her want to cry once more. It brought forth the memory of her dying of dehydration in her last life. She wiped her mouth with her sleeve and dug into the food before her with the fervor of a starving man.

After satiating herself, she heard her new daughter's whimpers from the room beside hers, "I guess it's 9 am now." She pulled on a nearby watch and smiled at the thought of actually having a working one for once.

Sophia beamed at her mother when Carol came into her nursery. A big gummy smile greeted her, before Sophia happily began burbling and babbling.

Carol's chest constricted and her heart melted, "Oh, my sweet sweet girl. Did you have a good sleep? Would you like some food, a bath, and a new diaper? Ohhh, my dear sweetheart, you're going to love all the new stuff mommy got for you."

Sophia grinned as she clung onto Carol while she gently lifted her out of her crib and began their daily routine. A routine that had been engraved into Carol's mind even with Eleanor slowly melded into her.

Carol got Sophia ready for the day, and into her adorable new outfit. An outfit that Ed would've thrown a fit over. Carol chuckled inwardly at that thought. She strapped her daughter snuggly onto her chest. The baby carrier that she had conjured was a lifesaver in this instance since she really didn't want Sophia fussing while she packed.

She sat on a free space on the bed and waved a hand. Suddenly, all their new things packed themselves up into their new huge suitcases, diaper bag, and her purse. While this went on, Carol felt a wave of fatigue wash over her.

Smiling tiredly at her babbling baby, she watched as their luggage, the new diaper bag, and stroller righted themselves up for transport. Carol did a quick sweep of the room with Sophia strapped onto her chest. She wanted to double check that she had everything she wanted and needed, before ditching this place. She definitely wanted to get away from anything to do with Ed and the abuse that he had rained down on her, even more so after the birth of their daughter. He'd been so angry that Sophia hadn't been born a Samuel.

While searching through the closet, she found the jewelry box that she had tried to hide from Ed when they first moved in together. She didn't hide it well enough. Ed found it and managed to pawn off everything. Well, almost everything.

He didn't find the hidden compartment that housed her parents wedding ring set. They'd worn those rings till their deaths. She'd only managed to get a hold of it from the solicitor weeks after their funeral. Her mother's diamond studs were spared as well. She'd worn them ever since she was born. Her paranoia at that time managed to pay off. She hoped that the resurgence of it would help her out once more.

She searched through the rest of house slowly. Her bones felt weary, and her magical core ached. It was probably because of all the magic she used up. Yawning, Carol snorted. She felt tired even though it was only 10 in the morning. _I suppose I deserve this. Gotta keep a better tab on how much magic I use around here._

Carol managed to round everything else that she thought she didn't want to leave behind as Sophia snoozed through it all. She chanced using her magic again to get it all packed away and into the jeep Cherokee in their driveway.

Carol dragged her feet back into the house to feed and change an alert baby girl bouncing against her in the baby carrier. She shot Sophia a tired smile and proceeded to care for her daughter.

After they were both fed, changed, and had gone to the bathroom respectively, Carol and Sophia got into the car. In the driver's seat, Carol tensed and prayed that her muscle memory could be relied upon. She snapped her fingers and a for sale sign popped up while the house's left over contents vanished. She felt it would be easier to move than to burn the place down like she initially wanted.

She felt so tired, but knew that she couldn't afford to take a nap. She and Sophia _needed_ to leave while she still had the nerves to do so. This wasn't going to be like the time she tried to run away to the Atlanta woman's shelter, unsuccessfully unfortunately. Carol recalled loving her stay at Dawsonville when she was younger when her parents had taken her on a cross country tour of the states for her 16th birthday.

Making up her mind, she pulled out a map, figured out their route, and checked on a bright wide eyed Sophia snug as a bug in her new car seat. Somehow, she successfully backed out of the driveway and down the street.

She let out a relieved laugh and smiled to herself. _I know it might just have been dumb luck or muscle memory, but I'm glad I know how to drive this thing..._

As they drove further and further away from their prior prison, Carol felt a dam of emotions swell up in her chest. The foremost emotion crashing against her was unabashed relief, and she couldn't help but feel guilty since she knew that this was partially her fault too. She couldn't help but be frustrated with herself for not seeing the signs that kept popping up through her relationship with Ed. For not having enough strength to stand up and say no. She was mad at herself that it took all this for her to act and stop the abuse.

As she drove past unfamiliar buildings, cars, and people she solemnly declared to Sophia, "Never again, baby. Mommy swears, _pinky swears_ , that she'll never let another person hurt either of us like that again. I swear."

The wonder of the past dampened the guilt that still ate at her as she saw blue skies, trees, and people that weren't ravagers. Buildings still stood tall and clean, streets weren't littered with detritus and skeletal bodies of people that had died from dehydration, starvation, or raiders. The past was a fresh breeze and a balm on her soul.

Sophia burbled happily in return while her mom let out a teary laugh as they drove down the highway towards their new future. Sophia being happy eased the rest of her guilt...for now at least.

xixixixixixixixix


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two: A New Life**

It was nearing Sophia's next meal when they finally made it to Dawsonville, Georgia.

When they passed by the welcome sign she briefly noted that the town was small, 619 people in total. Carol liked the thought of that though. Her past paranoia reared its ugly head... _There'd be less problems with less people just in case this world ran out of supplies here too. Less people meant less people would try to loot and destroy wherever our new home might be. Less people that would try to hurt us…_

Carol gripped the steering wheel till her knuckles turned white. She drew in calming breaths past her clenched teeth. After a while, she managed to calm herself down when she caught sight of Sophia in the rear view mirror. _I'm okay…I'm okay. I'm not back there anymore. Sophia is okay. I'm **not** Eleanor anymore…No one will ever hurt me like that again… _

Sophia, lulled by the motions of the car, kept on soundly snoozing in her car seat. Carol found that she felt energized after driving for a couple hours. It was probably because she hadn't done any sort of magic in a while.

A deep sigh escaped her. _I probably have a magical cap here._ _Probably one that draws on how much actual energy I have. It's certainly disappointing. Well it's better than nothing, I guess. It makes sense, even if I don't like it. I should find out what I can do here though. At some point in time... Definitely._

She kept driving down Dawsonville's highway and spotted an odd road by the side of the highway. It called out to her making her insides tingle. Her magic crackled under her skin.

Tentatively, she decided to trust her gut. _Besides if this way is a bust we could always just turn around. The gas tank is still half full from the trip after all._

From what she could see, Carol found that it was the perfect farm for them to settle down on. It certainly helped that it was on a hill. High ground was top notch in her book.

Carol parked at the front gate. She quirked a brow at the man in a well-dressed suit that was nailing a for sale sign down beside the gate's intercom. _The owner, maybe?_

She stepped out of the car and waved at the man curiously looking at her, "Hi there! I'm Carol Mason. I see that this place is up for sale. I'd like to purchase it, please."

He raised a brow and chortled before eyeing her up and down, pausing at her ringless hand, then glancing at her scruffy jeep, "The name is Greg Crews. I'm a realtor for this town and Woodbury. I know it looks nice, Ms. Mason, but this place is really big, really expensive and you're all alone with a baby."

Carol's prior smile vanished, as a frown invaded her face, "That's what hired help is for Mr. Crews. What's this place worth anyway?"

An intrigued look came over the realtor's face, "Hidden Hill Grange, 3641 highway 400 N, is about 42.54 acres of land with a six-bedroom pre-furnished interior. Beautifully designed and decorated as a modern farmhouse. It also has an attached four car garage and a sizable barn on the property. It has great-"

Carol cleared her throat and sheepishly smiled at him, irritation only just making her eye twitch slightly, "I'm sorry to cut you off. It sounds and looks lovely from what I can see of it right now, but I'd really like to know the price."

Grimly, she noted that Sophia's lip was beginning to tremble. Inwardly rolling her eyes, her smile strained. _God damn. Just please get on with it. Was buying a house in cash always this long winded? The movies made it all look so much more effortless._

Greg nodded and wryly grinned, "It's $989,000, but with tax and all the associated fees it's more like a $1,000,000." Greg waited for Carol's face to fall. He didn't think she looked like some rich broad. Or someone who could afford a quarter of what this place was worth.

Carol nodded, her pleasant expression fading, and simply stated, "Do you take cash?" _It would be the easiest way to shut this ass hat up and get someplace safe for us to settle into. This was way better than the slums I'd been living in my last life. To be fair though, it was the apocalypse._

Greg balked, a bemused expression overrode his face. No sane person carried that much money around with them. It was ludicrous.

He let out a disbelieving guffaw, shaking his head, "Yeah, sure Miss. If you have that much in cash right now in a silver briefcase, no less, you can sign the documents and have the property."

He snorted, chuckled, and chortled so hard his eyes teared up at the sheer absurdity. Just the idea that someone would have that much money on hand, made little sense to him. His obnoxious loud laughter echoed around them, startling the birds from their chirruping. Greg paid no heed to either Carol or the birds as he doubled over in laughter.

Carol stiffly nodded as she ground her teeth at the gall of the stupid realtor. With quick purposeful steps, she made her way to the trunk of her jeep. She snapped her fingers and felt a slight drain on her energy once more. Carol didn't care though, her anger bolstered her resolve. _I know that I may regret this later, but this bitch needs to be taught a lesson. Really, **I** couldn't afford it? Sure maybe if I wasn't a witch. Ugh... I'll show him. _

Her brows furrowed and made her nose scrunch up. Energy drained from her slowly. The air in front of her rippled and twisted. With a soft pop, a silver briefcase appeared into existence, dropping into her waiting hand. A mean smile curled Carol's lips.

The dickish realtor was still laughing when she came back from behind her jeep. Luckily Sophia had managed to settle down. She didn't trust her child to stay sleeping though. It was a tentative sleep at best, especially with the car not moving. _The sooner I could get this over with, the better._

She nosily cleared her throat. Carol did her best to reign in her temper, but she was fairly irritated as it was. Inwardly, she prayed that God would give her the patience not to turn him into a frog. Taking a fortifying breath, she pulled on a retail smile. Raising a brow, she presented the silver briefcase he'd asked for earlier.

Greg managed to catch a breath to stop his laughter in order to look up. He wiped away the tears that had gathered in the corners of his eyes and blinked rapidly. Quick as a blot, his amusement turned into wary confusion, "Seriously?"

Carol scowled at him, tired of being polite, and bit out, "As a heart attack. It's all there. You can open and count it if you'd like." She shoved the briefcase towards him, grunting slightly.

Greg gaped, blinking in disbelief. He gingerly took the silver briefcase and popped it open. Inside he found a heap of stacks of hundred dollar bills. Real hundred dollar bills. He shook his head and gasped under his breath.

She didn't know if she was supposed to hear him, but she could've sworn he said something about 'the mafia'. Snorting inwardly, she rolled her eyes. _As if she could ever fit in with the mafia. She'd had enough dead dealt to her, thank you very much._

He clicked the briefcase closed and looked up at Carol, confusion written across his face, " _Who_ are you?"

Carol rolled her eyes as she huffed out an irritated breath, "Carol Mason, like I said. I'd like to sign the papers now. Look. I just want to feed my daughter in my new home as soon as possible before she wakes up and makes a fuss. Can you help me do that or not?"

Greg looked flabbergasted as he nodded, "Yeah, sure, but you didn't even look around the property or inside any of the buildings though."

Carol chuckled at the utter dumbfounded look that still graced his face. With a boneless shrug, she shot him an encouraging grin, "Why don't we sign everything up at my new home, and you can tell me about all the other stuff that comes with this place?"

 _Please just shut up and get into the car. Come on. You can see that I'm the real deal here. Come on._

Greg, with shocked expression frozen on his face, nodded numbly and got into the car with Carol. He gripped the briefcase against his chest, not quite believing it was real.

She shot him a smug smile as she got in and clicked her seat belt in place, "The gate please."

Slightly bewildered still, he quickly nodded and clicked a black fob, "Huh? Oh. Oh yeah. Here."

The large iron gate loudly creaked open, swinging over the gravel road in front of them. Carol tilted her head and hummed under her breath. _I'm definitely going to have to do something about that gate. It's too open. Sure it's tall enough, but I don't know. I want something more solid. Gotta make these walls bigger too. The stone's great and everything, but it's just not tall enough. That's not crazy though, is it?_

Shaking her head, and reassuring herself that she wasn't crazy, she glanced at the realtor and nodded, "Thanks, Mr. Crews."

"You're welcome," he murmured absently as they rode up the drive towards her new home.

Sophia let out a bunch of irritated baby burbles and a loud screech as they bumped up and down the driveway. Her lower lip trembled now and again as she made grasping motions at her mother from her chair. She was obviously hungry and didn't like the thought of waiting. The bumpy ride probably wasn't helping either.

Carol glanced back and made a goofy grin at her daughter. Sophia settled slightly once she noticed that her mother was paying attention to her again. Her shoulders slumped as a tired half smile crawled onto her face when she faced towards the road ahead, "We're almost at our new home, sweetie."

Greg shot Carol an understanding look, his brother just had a kid earlier this year. It was hard, having a kid. He assumed that it was even harder if a person was all by themselves. He couldn't quite wrap his mind around someone wanting such a secluded home when, he assumed, she was a single mother. It didn't make sense. He shrugged off his confusion. Money was money. One shouldn't question the whys, he reminded himself.

Once they finally made it to the house. They parked and strolled into their new home. Carol hurriedly found the kitchen, rocking her already irritable baby. Relief filled her face as she found what she was looking for. Quickly, she settled them into their new kitchen.

Her little girl's whining and tears trickled to a stop. Sophia was able to happily eat her long awaited meal in their new kitchen, and once again the only sounds they could hear was the bird song in the distance. Carol let out a deep sigh as she slumped into a chair beside the high chair Sophia was occupying. She paid no heed to her mother, guzzling down her bottle with enthusiastic suckles.

Greg placed down the silver briefcase onto the kitchen island that Carol and Sophia had decided to sit at. Pulling out the necessary papers from a nearby cupboard, he hummed as his mind buzzed. That cash was real. This wasn't a dream. This would be his biggest and quickest sale yet. Inwardly, he merrily danced while visions of beaches danced in his head. He could totally afford that vacation now.

He pulled up a nearby bar stool and gave Carol a slightly stilted smile, "So ahhh...umm...right. As you can see, this modern farmhouse has a lot of natural lighting. It also has lovely views of the pasture since we're on a slight hill. The rest of the property is fairly flat though. This is a great big kitchen with stainless steel appliances that can even function off of propane if you'd like."

Greg shifted his papers and pulled out the necessary documents that she needed to sign and an overly shiny pen, "Since you didn't really want a tour, I'd like to mention there is loads of storage space throughout the house. It also has a large floor plan, totaling to about of 4000 sq feet. There are four floors in total; the basement, the main floor which we're on, the second floor and the attic."

Carol nodded and began signing the various papers while she kept an eye on her daughter. She tilted her head and scanned the details of each page. A little caution never hurt anyone, and since it was a lot of papers, she knew that caution would be appropriate here. Biting her lip, she finished off signing the last sheet he slid towards her.

The realtor pulled out glossy 8 by 10s. They showed the many different areas of the house and property in question, all in different lighting. The floor plan was also slipped in the pile of pictures.

As she perused the photos, he continued gesticulating now and again, "It has an in ground pool out back and every room has eight-foot-tall ceilings. It was built in 1985, but has since been renovated and remodeled, as you can see." He gestured to to the beams that lined the tall ceilings with a flourish of his hand.

Carol blinked and tilted her head, her impatience leaking through her stoic expression, as she silently urging him to continue.

Sheepishly, he coughed into his hand and looked down at his papers, "This land is already fenced by 4 foot tall walls all around the entire property including the woods that are partially on this land. Hidden Hill Grange also has a medium sized pond near the woods, and a stream that runs through the woods. There's a fishing lake that's only about a 40 minute walk from the edge of this property as well. In the backyard not too far away is an already well established vegetable garden and fruit trees, but it's hard to really see all that stuff since it's way too late in December. It's good hunting and gathering all around really."

Carol gathered Sophia into her arms as she finished off her bottle. Hugging her to her chest, she gently started patting Sophia's back to get her to burp, "That still all sounds really great. I love how this place, has the potential to be self sufficient and is already furnished and decorated. I'm not much for doing that kind of stuff."

A relieved expression invaded his face, his lips quirked up slightly, "I'm glad that you like the place so far. The previous owners hired some good people. On a different note, there are great Elementary schools just 20 minutes down the road and a fairly good high school just 10 minutes away from that. This place's bones is built to withstand a hurricane, it's that sturdy. The last _last_ owners were a little paranoid. Real off the grid sort of people."

She quirked a brow, a warm feeling suffused her, "That sounds intriguing. What else did the last last owners add?" _Maybe this really would become their safe haven. The original owners sounded like her kind of people._

He early nodded as he pulled out some schematics and papers from his leather folder, "Ohhh, it may not look like it, but they did lots of things that the previous owners decided to keep since it would've been a hassle to really dismantle it."

"Oh, like what?" Carol questioned offhandedly while she let Sophia bounce in her arms. She pursed her lips at the highchair. Her little girl wasn't exactly light. Maybe she could hang out there when her arms got too tired. It wasn't like it wasn't a comfy looking high chair. It was already set up as a decor piece in the house, but she figured that it worked well enough as an actual high chair.

Flipping through the schematics and notes that he pushed over to her, he pointed at various diagrams here and there, "Well...The doors around here may not look like it, but they're made out of solid steel. The house's frame support is sturdy as heck too. And the door frames could probably withstand an earthquake if there ever would be one."

He turned and gestured at the windows behind them, "All the windows in this house are double panned tempered glass."

She nodded and deposited her daughter into the high chair. Sophia happily clambered in and smacked her tiny hands against the granite counter. She happily giggled and chortled at the slapping sounds she could make. Carol turned her attention back to the realtor.

His enthusiasm seemed endless, but she figured that was because she was an interested buyer. He pulled out more papers with diagrams, photos and notes, "And there's even other power sources for this house along with options that the last owners disconnected, but they could be easily reconnected at your leisure."

He paused and stroked his chin before continuing, "Actually, just between you and me, before the big renovations and redesign of this farmhouse, there were a bunch of solar panels on the roof with all the wiring still up there. Those are just disconnected for now. Besides that, there are propane tanks that are located at the back of the house that are good to go and have about twelve years left before they expire."

Greg snapped his fingers and grinned, "Oh! And, all the big appliances can run off of the propane too, just in case you'd want that sort of thing. Plus, one of the neat power sources that I found around here was this water turbine that they somehow rigged up from the stream that flows through the woods. It connects to house and you just need to switch it on for it to start giving you some extra juice. All of this stuff is labeled in your breaker box in the basement."

Her lips slowly upturned, while her eyes lit up at the thought of being able to truly live off the gird, "That all sounds really great. I'll definitely look into reinstalling the other power sources for this place, just in case yah know. It's always good to be cautious. Did you need anything else besides my signatures, Mr. Crews?" _It'll take a while for me to trust that this world isn't going to go to shit. Besides, even if it doesn't, this way I won't have to pay an arm and a leg for my energy bill._

"Very true, especially since you have a little bundle. Nope. Did you have any other questions for me while I'm here? The papers that I gave you do tell you the condensed bit of info on this place, but not all the off the grid stuff. The last owners were scared that it wouldn't sell for top dollar if people knew about that stuff," he hurriedly stated while he started organizing the papers he had to leave with Carol and the papers that he need to keep on him.

Sophia whined and struggled to get out of her seat. With a little sigh, Carol tucked her daughter in to her arms. She tilted her head and slowly nodded, "I'm actually really happy about it all, to be honest. I don't wanna be left high and dry in case the main grid goes down for some reason."

Greg shot her a distracted smile, "Good stuff. Good stuff. So no questions?"

She rocked and bounced Sophia in her arms. The motions slowly eased her baby's irritation, lulling her into laying her head against her mother's chest. Sleepy eyed, she nuzzled Carol. Biting her lip, she frowned as a new question formed in her mind, "Well...How about where the water comes from and the whole septic tank system thing?"

Greg paused in his ministrations and tapped his lip before he nodded, "From what I recall this place is connected to the regular sewer system and to the grid water. It also has secondary sources though. There is a septic tank connected to the house, a grey water system running through the house and farm fields, and quite a bit of water options."

Carol continued to rock her child as she hummed, "Water options?"

Putting the stray papers left behind on the counter into his leather folder, Greg scrunched his face as he thought about it, "Mhmm...There's a rain water collection system up on the roof already that you would've seen if I'd given you a proper tour, along with a couple water cisterns and an underground well pump that's also connected to all the pipes in the house. It all works. The well pump is labeled with an on switch in the breaker box as well."

Slowly, her cheeks dimpled at the possibilities that ran though her mind, "So if I really wanted to, I could live off the grid?"

He chuckled as he tucked the folder under his arm, "Well, yes, but it's certainly less convenient, don't you think?"

She nodded and clucked her tongue, "That's true. I like having a back up plan though."

Pulling out his flip phone, he shot her a sheepish smile, "Back up plans are good. Well, I just gotta go and call the prior owners so I can hand you the keys, transfer over all the utilities, and hand you the deed today. If you'll excuse me for a moment."

Carol tilted her head and nodded in agreement, "Sure."

Greg took that as a que to leave, as he strode into the hallway near the kitchen.

She turned away from his retreating form and looked down at her drowsy daughter, "Looks like we have a new home, Sophia. How do you like it?"

Sophia snuggled and smiled against her mother. Taking a tiny fistful of her mother's sweater, she closed her eyes to the world and focused in on her mother's steady heart beat. A tiny coo escaped past her lips while Carol continued to sway in place.

Carol grinned down at her daughter, pecking her downy head, as she looked around their new home in a small bit of wonder, "I like it too."

Her stomach grumbled in protest and startled her for a moment. Carol let out a little laugh, "Huh I guess mama needs food too, eh Soph?"

Sophia, at this point, had fallen into a happy slumber. A warm full tummy and soft warm cuddles from her mother soothed her quickly and deeply. Life was already looking up, and Carol hoped her luck would hold out.

Greg ambled back into the kitchen and shot her a beaming grin, "Alright, Ms. Mason. The owners have agreed. Here are your keys and the deed. Oh! Trash collection day is Thursdays. You'll need to install your own security system since the one currently installed is deactivated. Ahhh... What else? The septic system was just checked last month so you don't have to worry about that for the next three years."

He giddily handed her everything, his professionalism fading somewhat now that he'd just completed the sale.

She took it all with one hand and nodded at him, "Thanks Mr. Crews. For everything." A small smile pulled at her lips. Even if he'd annoyed her initially, she was happy that he'd helped her gain her new home.

He nodded in return and pulled out one last contract from his folder, "Oh you're very welcome. Thank you for helping me make an instant sale and for making the last owners jump over the moon. Surprising lady. Welcome to Dawsonville you two."

Carol pursed her lips and hummed, "Thank you. Do I just sign these papers?" She placed the papers she'd just received onto the counter beside her.

Greg placed the contract on the counter beside her and pushed a pen into her free hand, "Yes in deed, ma'am. Just sign here, here, initial here, here, there, and one last signature here along with the date and my signature."

She scanned and quickly penned her signature in the assigned spots, "Alright. Umm...wait. What's the date?"

He tilted his head and flipped his phone open to check, "Ah...It's December 15th 2000."

With one last flourish of his pen, she finished signing all the documents, "Okay. All done."

Quickly sliding it back into his folder, he slipped his pen into his jacket pocket and grinned Carol, "And viola, you, dear lady now own the house and the land it stands on. The utilities guy should come by tomorrow. My number is on the card attached to the papers I gave you. If you need anything, just call."

With that they made their way through the hallway to her front door. As he made to exit her new home, she quickly replied, "We will. Have a good night!"

He shot them a lopsided smile before tilting his head and exiting their house, "Have a good evening, ladies."

Sophia and Carol waved at the still slightly surprising realtor as he walked over to the other car on their drive way. They stood in their doorway for a while, Carol watching him quickly drive off their new property. As he disappeared down the hill, Carol decided that it was best to retreat back inside. Her daughter snuggled closer into her mother's warmth. She chuckled and kissed her daughter's little head as she was just about to head back inside.

Pausing slightly, she sighed and snapped her fingers. Their stuff was still in the jeep. Sometimes she felt like she could just slap her forehead when she did stupid shit like this.

With an impatient tap of her foot, all their luggage, the new baby supplies, and a huge cooler marched out of the jeep and into their house. As they entered, she closed the door with her hip, and flicked the lock closes. All their things floated on by and put themselves away into their respective places, with a twist and a snap of her fingers. A bone weary feeling of fatigue settled down around Carol. She'd overexerted her magical core again.

Inwardly, she wondered... _Would I gain more strength if I kept practicing with my magic this way? Is it like a muscle in this world? Is it worth the risk to try and find out?_

She sighed and shook those thoughts away. Blowing out a stray hair out of her face, one that had decided to rest onto her forehead, she muttered under her breath, "Definitely way too much magic usage today, sweetheart. How does a sandwich for mama, and more baby cuddles for you sound? Because I think we have enough time now that we can just sort everything else that we need tomorrow."

Sophia, of course, didn't reply. She was far too busy snoozing to care what her mother really did at that moment.

Quirking a smile and snorting slightly, Carol roamed towards their kitchen at a leisurely pace. She could take her time now. They had a home, a real home now, so there really wasn't a rush. With deft hands, Carol quickly snatched up a couple pre-made sandwiches from her fridge. It took no time at all for her to gobble up her meal.

Not too long after, she wandered around her new house with Sophia snoozing on her chest. After snooping through each room upstairs she finally found the show room nursery. It was beautifully designed and already had a crib, one that was much nicer and sturdier than Sophia's original bed.

She gently laid her daughter in the comfy looking crib, and slumped into a nearby nursery chair. The soft chair soothed her aching legs and back. The soft light in the bedroom combined with the warmth from the heater made her eyes droop.

Carol yawned and sleepily grinned at her snoozing baby. Slowly, but surly her eyes shuttered closed as she fell away into a deep slumber. Her magic had been too tapped out because of her hasty overuse of magic. Her last conscious thought was that tomorrow would be a new and interesting day starting their lives anew.

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	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three: Settling In**

Carol's heartbeat thudded in her ears as she shot up from the chair she had fallen asleep in. She whipped her head around as she sharply glared around her.

Her hands clenched at the armrests of the chair she was in, turning her knuckles white, as her breaths came out in gasps. Fading forms of raiders and Ed, tearing at her clothes were like afterimages in her eyes. Echos of her daughter's cries were haltingly drifting away as her mind languidly cleared. Slowly, her racing heart calmed, along with her breaths.

The air was warm, there was just her and her baby, and she slowly realized that it wasn't real. They were safe. There wasn't anything to be worried about. She still had another chance. _They_ had another chance.

Her eyes watered as the faded feelings from her nightmare washed over her. Slumping back into the chair, she let out a deep bone-weary sigh. Carol squeezed her eyes shut, letting silent tears drip down her cheeks. She didn't let them linger long though. Roughly wiping them away with the heel of her hand, she shook her head. She felt that she should be so much stronger than this. _I need to be stronger than this_.

As she glanced around her, she found that cool cold light was already beginning to stream through Sophia's windows, past her new frilly curtains. The air still felt warm though. Lifting herself out of her comfortable chair, she peeked past the curtains and stared out the window.

The sun was just barely rising, just faded smudges of yellows, oranges, and whites spreading across the horizon. Fluffy white clouds dotted the dove grey sky, the trees dark against the low light of the early day. Bird song was faint around this time.

Shaking her head, she tried to dislodge the nightmare that kept reaching for her at the back of her mind. _It wasn't fair that the nightmares followed her from her last life._

Taking a shuddering breath, she checked to make sure that Sophia was still peacefully slumbering. Sophia snoozed away, softly snoring and clutching a nearby fuzzy blanket to her chest. Her long dark lashes kissed her chubby cheeks, not even fluttering once as she slept.

Her fear and pain gradually evaporated more so, as she took in her whole and hale little girl. She was okay. They were both okay. Everything was fine.

Carol took in a fortifying breath and checked her watch. It was just about 6 am. Another sigh escaped past her lips m a king her feel like a deflated balloon. Stretching out her bones, and cracking her knuckles in the process, she shook off the fog in her mind. Quietly, she left Sophia's nursery and tiptoed down the hall towards the master bedroom.

Pausing to lean against the doorway of her new room, Carol took in long slow deep breaths in and out. In and out. In and out. She let the clean air tingle against her tongue and embraced the warmth in her lungs. It tasted sweet. There and then, Carol decided that clean farm was the best. Inhaling in a slow swirl of oxygen into her lungs, Carol deliberately eased away the remnants of her nightmare. _The past won't hold me back here. I won't let it._

She pressed the heels of her hands against her forehead and then let her head loll back against the door, "I didn't think that the nightmares would follow me into this life too... Feh. Just my luck. It's not like I'm really complaining though. At least I get this new chance to live here, and I have my little girl."

She stumbled towards her new bed and purposely fell onto her belly with a thump. Carol savored the supple fabric against her skin as she rolled around her soft mattress. Rubbing the fleecy sheets against her face, she let out a happy little groan. These were the nicest sheets she had ever felt in both of her lives. Sighing, Carol breathed in the light floral scent that wafted off the sheets before turning over onto her back.

Letting her forearm rest against her forehead, she hummed to herself, "So, the utilities guy should be here later today. I hope not too late in the day though. Umm..."

Biting her inner cheek, Carol pulled a duck face, her brows furrowing, "I should probably get everything wired up again as well. Plus, I want the internet. I loved the internet while I was growing up before in my last life... Plus it'll come in handy in learning what I want to learn. Ahhh... It feels like there's so much to do today, and so little time."

A little chuckle slipped past her lips at that thought, while a wry grin grew on her face. Technically she had all the time in the world now in comparison to her prior situation.

Carol dragged herself back into an upright position and cracked her back once more. A quiet happy sigh escaped her as her grin morphed into something more sincere. She glanced around at the room around her, taking in every detail, and felt a deep sort of satisfaction. _It feels nice being here. It feels far more like home here rather than Ed's house, even if I didn't really choose any of the furniture here either._

xixixixixixixixix

The hours' tick tocked quickly by. Warm sunshine bathed the whole house through its wide windows making everything feel cozy inside their new home. Carol and Sophia went through their morning routines with a pep in their steps. Their new home, new day, and their longed for freedom buoyed their happy moods.

Boxes and baggage were stacked here and there. The sight of it all made Carol deeply stare. A frown furrowed her brow and she found that the sight of the boxes and bags unsettled her for some reason. Anxiety rose in her gut, as she continued to think about it. Doing her best to shake it off, she decided to actually do something about it. Slowly, she finished unpacking most of the boxes and bags while Sophia played in her bouncer nearby.

Carol made a note to herself to buy a bunch of electronics sooner rather than later. The house wasn't exactly decorated with entertainment or actual living in mind. Sure it was all quite pretty in her opinion, but it didn't exactly have a function in mind. It didn't even have a television or radio.

Oh, a TV would've tickled her pink. A radio and a computer would've been a must to have too. She grinned at that thought before mentally adding a couple phones into the mix. One for herself and one for the house. She desperately missed technology. She got to have a taste of it in her last life, but then the world went and broke down before she could really savor it. If she had her own way, she'd make sure the comforts that they had now wouldn't be out of her grasp. _No matter what. Not this time at least._

As she packed away the last remnants of one of their large bags, she figured that they'd need a bunch of other things that they'd probably need later down the road too. Besides, she was dying to have pictures to remember this new start of their lives. At the very least, she needed a camera in order to that. _Oh, and definitely more groceries!_

A giddy feeling welled up in her at the prospect of going shopping. Shopping and not scavenging or looting a building would be lovely. Sure, she'd lose money and have to interact with people, but Carol didn't mind _too_ much. That was probably because she'd be associating with people that weren't looking to rape, kill, and/or eat her this time around. She could enjoy looking at things and buying everything. It was a novel idea.

On the other hand, she didn't really have to buy anything. Not really. Not with magic at her fingertips. However, she didn't want to just conjure everything thing that they needed. It would take too much energy out of her, for one. Plus, she wouldn't be able to guarantee the quality that everything would be in. Carol wasn't exactly an expert on the antiques of the 21st century.

A darker though prickled at the edges of her mind. _We definitely need hunting equipment too. Guns, ammo, knives, a crossbow, arrows, fishing gear and the like. Just in case this world went to shit too._ She refused to ever let raiders get near them. Or to die because of the elements and lack of supplies. _Never again._

She shoved those thoughts away and mused about how much money she'd save on meat if she hunted on her land as well. It would certainly save her energy in conjuring or duplicating money. It would be energy that she could put towards other things. _Maybe wards?_

Her ongoing mental to-do list was interrupted by Sophia's cries. She opened and closed her tiny hands at her mother. Sophia exaggerated the tremble of her lower lip as she tried to stretch out of her bouncer.

With a crinkle of her eyes and a fond quirk of her lips, Carol ambled over. She already loved her new little daughter with all her heart. But, she knew that it was probably both due to this body's prior connection and with how she looked so much like her own little Sophia back from when she was Eleanor. Plus, it was hard not to love the little girl that kept wanting to cuddle her. She couldn't fathom why Ed hadn't taken a shine to his daughter. _His loss._

She scooped her up into her chest. Slowly, she danced with her daughter tucked into her arms, humming a familiar tune under her breath. Sophia's cries died down into sniffles. Carol kissed her wet cheeks. _As long as she's crying, she's breathing._ With that thought in mind, she continued to sway with her little girl.

With a quick morning bath, a new diaper, new clothes, and breakfast; Sophia returned to her usual happy burbling self. Carol wrangled out the playpen and set it up with little difficulty. Apparently those things never changed, even with a thousand years of progress between them. Her baby beamingly grinned up at her before mobilizing and crawling away to play with a nearby stuffed rabbit. She inwardly grinned. _Such a smart fast baby._

Carol was happy that she did this without magic. She still had energy to enjoy the fruits of her labor this way. It was then that she decided that she'd try to only use magic if she really needed it or to at least try to. Like with money, or protecting the house. A niggling thought poked at the back of her mind. If she didn't use something, she'd lose it, so if she followed that vein of thinking... _Wasn't that the same with magic?_

Frustration pawed at her chest. She was of two minds when it came to magic. Sure, it was wonderful and solved a lot of her problems. On the other hand, it came at a price here. It wasn't like she had limitless amounts of stamina. Ergo, no endless magic. Which was a bummer, but did that mean she couldn't just enjoy it too? _Ugh. Just ugh. I can't decide. I keep changing my mind about it._

Another thought brushed against her mind. _The wall._ One of the other things she'd have to improve on with some magic. She'd have to remember to do something about the wall that encircled her property. For one, it was too short. Additionally, there wasn't anything else between them and the outside world. That also had to be dealt with. As soon as possible.

She watched Sophia crawl and babble this way and that, gnawing on the toy rabbit. Sophia could probably use more toys. All she really had we're a few conjured dolls and that stuffed rabbit of hers. The desperate need to make up for everything in her last life clawed at Carol's heart. Sophia would definitely need more toys. And not just stuff she conjured.

At 9 am, the utility guy came by. He seemed nice. Well, as nice as a stranger could be.

She clutched her daughter to her chest and paused before letting him in. He had a kind face, but she didn't quite trust him still. She didn't really trust Greg Crews too much either, but Carol decided that was just her previous paranoia rearing its head again. She snuggled her face against Sophia's side and inhaled the sweet baby scent that still clung to her skin. It calmed her racing heart and helped put her in just a bit of a better mood. Sophia happily cooed at her mother and gave her a sweet baby hug in return.

"Hello, ma'am. I'm Jim Rothenberg, and I'm here to set up your utilities," he gave her a warm smile and picked up a rusty red toolbox that he had on the ground by his feet.

Carol shook off the nerves that had taken ahold of her, and pasted on a small grin onto her face, "Hi. I'm Carol Mason, and this is my daughter Sophia. Come in."

"Thanks, ma'am. This won't take long. I'm the one to maintained the utilities in this place for the last owners, so no worries. Big move to the country?" He glanced at the luggage and boxes, the ones that she had forgotten about, around the house.

She followed his gave. A frown plucked her lips down. Carol inwardly noted that she had to unpack **everything** sooner rather than later. After she got the rest of what she needed, of course.

A crooked smile slunk onto her face, "Yeah. It was an important move."

"Me, my wife, and our little boy want to move too. We have another little guy joining us soon, so we'd need more room. Plus, I want to set up my own garage away from here, and as nice as Dawsonville is, they don't need another auto shop here," he shot her a friendly wink and waved at Sophia.

Carol had found him quite friendly. It was really nice to know that he a wife, a son, and another on the way. Families forged under love and not just under survival and proximity, made her happy. Plus, it made her feel better to know he wasn't someone she couldn't relate to.

"Oh, wow. That sounds neat, Mr. Rothenberg," Carol's lips quirked up, revealing straight white teeth. Her grin was warmer and far more sincere at that revelation.

During his work setting up and restarting all the utilities around her house, he continued chatting away filling up the silence in her home. He was apparently only doing this utility job until he saved up enough money to start up his own auto repair shop down in Atlanta. She found the urge to give him the money to start it but pulled back against the generosity that threatened to overwhelm her. Sure he _seemed_ nice, but she was aware it took a lot more than _nice_ to really know a person. She could still recall the nice-looking people that killed her baby and tortured her as Eleanor. Nice masks, hiding nasty monsters.

He finished up in less than half an hour and happily took the cheque that she had written up for him with a grin. The flash of surprise on his face when she promptly paid him, made her think that people didn't pay him right away around here. _It was a shame. He did good work._

She knew that they had a lot of things to do still, but she wanted to take a closer look around her new property. _Besides, wasn't fresh air supposed to be good for babies?_

With that thought in mind, she quickly got ready. Slipping Sophia into a baby swing in the bathroom with her, she sleuthed around the bathroom cabinets. She found some apple-scented shampoo along with some milk and honey body wash. There wasn't much left, but that could be remedied with a trip to the grocery store. Carol hadn't bothered using the old shampoos and soaps from the last house. They didn't quite sit right with her, but she figured that she could just change them later on.

Quickly finishing her shower and getting dressed, she helped ready her daughter as well. Now geared up for the weather outside, she strapped Sophia onto her chest. Making sure she had her keys and her wallet, she braced herself against the winter weather.

They meandered around their new grounds, walking up and down worn footpaths. She took her scarf down from her face to whoop into the wind. The sting of the cold bit into her cheeks, but not enough to make her regret it. In this place, bathed in a light layer of snow, being alive again felt awesome.

They stumbled upon an old pond. It was reasonably sized, frozen over in the cold. Large leafless oak trees stood back away from it a couple feet back. Cattails, reeds, and rocks lined it, making it look rather nice even now. This would be the perfect place to fish once the weather got warmer. She spotted the frozen remains of a river nearby and decided to follow it.

The river coiled around a fairly dense forest with worn gravel paths. Spindly bare branches shadowed the warm light that shone down on them. The trees swaying slightly against the breeze. Bird song twittered around them as Carol huffed and puffed through the snow. Sophia was quiet as her mother kept trekking through their property.

Soon, as they wandered away, they ended up near their house again. She found an empty pool. Dirt and snow smudged the blue tiles that covered the entire pool. Leaves and twigs littered the empty space. It was just another thing for her to deal with later. She'd have to turn it into something else. Carol wasn't that fond of pools.

The rest of the property was just as neglected as the pool. Frozen over and coated with snow, their imperfections were hidden away. For now at least. All in all, it was certainly a large swath of land, but for $1,000,000 that made sense.

They continued walking down an unfamiliar walkway near their house. It took them through a different part of the forest. Maple trees and pine trees hugged the pathway. Animals skittered away at the loud sounds of their footsteps, but Carol didn't mind. It wasn't like she was actively hunting them anyways.

Soon they made it to the edge of their lot. The wall encircling their new home was about 4 feet tall and looked like it was grey cobblestones. When she touched it though, Carol knew it was actually just molded concrete. She still wanted to try her hand at warding runes into it, certainly after increasing its height though. She didn't know if it'd work, but it'd be worth a shot.

Glancing down at her snoozing babe, Carol flexed her frozen fingers. She'd have to be quick. The cold was starting to eat at her hand through her gloves at this rate. She probably should've charmed them to be temperature regulated. _Next time._

Taking out her keys, she scratched in protection runes into the wall. Pricking her finger, against a nearby thorn bush, she smeared blood onto the runes. They briefly glowed a bright blue before sinking into the wall.

With a satisfied lilt of her lips, she twisted her wrist and snapped her fingers. The 4-foot wall grew another 4 feet and thickened another foot as well. Short thin spikes sprung up from the top of her new all just as it stopped growing. The magical drain in her body, made her feel like a great weight was trying to crush her. A tired sigh made air puff out of her. Slowly, struggling against her weary bones, she trudged back to their house.

xixixixixixixixix

After their walk and later on in the day, after a long nap, they swung by the only shopping district in their town. Carol finished up her mental shopping list and braced herself for all the social interactions she'd have to endure. She wasn't quite ready to socialize with everyone under the sun. It'd take time for her to let her guard down, if ever.

She bought up all the electronics she needed and set up her very first cell phone in this life. She'd have to try to recall this new number, but otherwise, it went well. She'd even managed to set up two appointments, one for a home phone line and another for the internet up to her new home. It was all kind of draining, but she was glad that she was getting things done and that Sophia had taken to all this new stuff, along with all the traveling, like a little trooper.

She encountered a lot more people that wanted to say hello, and they all seemed welcoming. They were interested in the new owner of Hidden Hill Grange. She didn't get any derisive looks when they noted that she was without a husband, but that might've been because she fibbed a little.

She recalled how small towns had been in her last life, back before things went to shit. A widow would be far more welcomed than a single mother. So that's what she told them. It was better to stick with that instead of needlessly putting herself in a tougher situation. Besides, technically she was a widow. She had been married as Eleanor, and her past husband had died. _That sort of counted right_? She shook that thought away.

After that, the locals were much more welcoming and helped her get to the many different shops she needed. Some stores were kind enough to offer delivery to her house instead of her having to figure out how to haul everything up herself. Magic would've done in a pinch, but she didn't want to exactly try to explain how everything she wanted could fit into a not so large jeep.

She ended up ordering up a bunch of other furniture and home goods, groceries, plants, a couple chickens, a cow, a goat, and a couple of pigs. It would be a lot of work to set up the farm to be fully self-sufficient, especially since it was already too cold for anything to grow. But that was why they stopped by the Home Depot. Carol had a plan brewing in her head. _A greenhouse would mean fresh vegetables all year long... Food security that didn't depend on our back up food was more than just good._

A memory resurfaced in her mind, making her pause mid-step. Her mother had had a greenhouse before she'd died. The bright green frame of the greenhouse seemed to have triggered it. She recalled the warm streaming sunlight that managed to touch all the greenery around them. The smell of sweet grass, and her mother laughing at a bad joke her father had just told. Inwardly, she felt like she was about to crumble.

It was a scene that she'd similarly had with her last life too. Her husband, her and her six-year-old daughter goofing off in the greenhouse. The memory was fuzzy, but she felt like she could almost grasp it. Like mist over a mountain.

"Mum! Why is this plant so green?" Sophia's bright green eyes flashed with curiosity against the bright viridian plants around them.

"Because of photosynthesis," Eleanor looked up from the flower bed that she'd been working on, dirt-smudged onto her face.

"What's that?" Sophia tilted her head and gently rubbed a nearby plants' leaf.

Eleanor sat up and smiled at her daughter, "It's how plants manage to eat. They magically change up the sunlight and water that they get from their environment, and change them into food."

Sophia hummed and turned towards her father, "Daddy, is that true?" She pulled at her dark little pigtail in thought.

Her husband let out a barking laugh, "Sure, pumpkin. Mummy would never lie to you."

Sophia bounced on the balls of her heels, a sweet smile pulling at her lips, "So they're magic, but they have to hide it like mummy."

Eleanor hummed and gently replied, "Yeah, they had to trade their magic to become as pretty as they are now." Her eyes reflected love and adoration as she gazed at her family. This was totally worth losing her magic. As long as she had them, the world could go to hell for all she cared.

Her daughter's eyes widened, "Really?"

She nodded and got up from the flower bed, "Yeah, and they're happier for it."

Sophia happily chirruped out before dashing off to adventure further into the greenhouse, "Okay!"

Eleanor walked over to her husband and gently kissed his lips, "I love you."

A crocked smile pulled at his mouth before he encircled her in a warm tight hug, "I love you too, darling."

She shook her head and refocused on _this_ Sophia's happy smile. This Sophia had dark red hair. Not black. Blue eyes not green. Her eyes felt watery as she sucked in a quick breath. A slight sniffle escaped her before she laughed a lightly watery laugh. _There wasn't time for this._

A bright flyer caught her eye as she walked out of the Home Depot while she was making her way to her Jeep. She paused. A tingle ran up her spine as a strange feeling overcame her again. It was the same feeling that led her to her new home, so she decided to just go with it. _Fuck it. Maybe this is what a good hunch feels like. Don't know what I'd need an odd job guy for though._ With that, she pocketed the number that the flyer had and made her way back to her house.

xixixixixixixixix

AN: Thank you to everyone that followed, favorited, read and reviewed this story so far! I really appreciate it. You guys are great. A special thanks to Scarlet, Alice, Oricke, Guest, and JanusGodOfPossibilites for leaving their reviews. It makes me happy to know that you guys want this thing to keep going.

Scarlet: I'm happy that you enjoyed the story far. And her actions will cause a ripple effect that will affect more people than she knows. Carol hasn't tested out everything that she could do before, but it'll certainly be more than she initially thought. It'll definitely be useful later on in her life.


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four: I Hear You**

Their drive home was uneventful, snow sloshing and parting away against their clunky jeep.

The streets looked like an unfinished painting. A canvas still perfectly white, as if waiting for an artist's hand to return. Houses blurred by, covered in a thick blanket of snow. Their original colors peeking out from under their new white caps. Footsteps and paw prints crisscrossed each other across the passing sidewalks. Besides the brown of the denuded trees, the only other color was the vivid saffron staining the base of each lamppost, pine tree and shrub.

The afternoon light struggled to break through the murky clouds, but even in its weakness, it was enough to be blinding. The air, of course, was cold enough to fog up her windows. Puffs and flurries floated down from the sky, but it did nothing to impede them on their way home.

Carol turned up the heater, warm stale air blasted against her face. The radio crackled now and again between songs, filling the silence of their drive home. It was a reminder that she probably either needed to buy a new car, or 'fiddle' with the car a little bit. Glancing back at Sophia for a moment, she smiled. Today had been kind of long, but she'd behaved beautifully.

Her little girl's eyes fluttered open and closed. It was like she was trying to blink away the sleep that tried to take her over. With one last yawn, she drifted off against the motions of the car and the embrace of the warm air.

The number in her pocket seemed to nag at the back of her mind. She'd probably end up calling and making sure to hire him right away before the end of the day. _Might as well, right?_

Her cellphone seemed heavy in her pocket, almost like it was calling out to her. She snorted under breath. Get it? Get it? She could almost hear her mother and father chastising her for her bad jokes.

Sophia groggily cooed and laughed to herself now and again. It was a funny habit she'd developed, talking in her sleep.

As they drove down the winding road towards their new home, her mind wandered. On one hand, Carol was happy. Their lives were looking up. They had a new home, full bellies, and were safe from the dangers of the world. Then again, sometimes memories of Ed would overshadow her joy.

Inwardly, she sneered as she recalled how Ed had always said that babies cried in car rides. That it would just make Sophia sick, if they went anywhere. Like an idiot, she gave into him.

In reality, it had just been a piss poor excuse to never bring her or the baby along with him anywhere. It was probably also a way to further isolate them, now that Carol thought about it. With a grunt she ground her molars.

 _Well, you know what? I'm glad that fucker is gone. Now I can take Sophia wherever the damn well I want. Whenever, I want. Hmmph._

A dark frown bore down on her face. She could finally take her kid to the doctor to get vaccinated and checked for allergies. Hell, she could finally get a freaking PAP smear. Even just a regular check up would be lovely.

Ed had never let them go to the doctor. Or the hospital. At this point it was miracle they both didn't die from something as stupid as the flu. That alone should've been a great big honking clue.

She shook off that line of thinking. Hindsight was always 20/20 they say. It'd do her no good brooding on a dead man.

When they finally reached home, Carol proceeded to unload her jeep, after making sure to strap a slightly frankly Sophia onto her chest. Sophia nuzzled her mother and whined.

 _Shoot. Was it already time to feed her?_ Her stomach grumbled at that thought. _Fuck, did I not eat earlier?_

Carol sighed and looked around, before waving her hand down in a slashing motion towards the trunk of the jeep. It would certainly make her hungrier using magic like this, but the time saved was worth it. Bundles of batteries, her new Polaroid camera, a dozen boxes of Polaroid film, picture frames, blankets, pots and pans, kitchen utensils, kitchen supplies, hunting equipment, a computer, a VCR, pillows, candles, matches, storm lanterns, flash lights, vases, various pieces of art, knick knacks that she found interesting, and all the groceries floated out of the car. She scrunched her nose at the back of the jeep and it closed with a loud clink.

Wobbling slightly as magic clawed away at her energy, she swayed where she stood. Trembling slightly, Sophia's whines got louder. She gnawed on her tiny fists, shaking head now and again.

Carol glanced down at her baby and cooed, "It'll be okay baby bear, mommy just has to put everything away now." Bouncing on the balls of her feet, she tried to rock her with the swish of her hips. It didn't really stall her irritated baby.

Tears started to swell in the corners of Sophia's eyes as her lip trembled. Carol saw the impending crying bout and marched into her house. Her strides were purposeful and quick, despite her growing fatigue.

The door flung open with a twitch of her hand, as the cargo she'd been levitating from the jeep followed behind her like an obedient pup. It resolutely banged shut, the locks turning quickly with a snap of her fingers.

In no time at all, everything was put away in their respective places. While everything floated and marched around her, she settled down onto the couch.

Carol got Sophia comfortable in her arms with a bottle of milk as they sunk down into soft cushions. Her little one gripped her bottle happily. Shaking it once, she popped the nipple into her mouth with a satisfied smile. Sophia held her bottle with tight little fists, and slouched into her mother's lap as she glug gluged her milk.

Carol stared at the door from her seat on her couch and let out a deep sigh. A memory surfaced up in her mind. She ground her teeth as the images flashed and faded.

 _Never ever, leave your door unlocked. No matter how safe you feel, unlocked doors could kill you._ Carol thought bitterly. She stamped down the other flashes of other memories that threatened to bubble up from her mind.

 _Those thoughts could just stay in her nightmares, thank you very much._

Carol shot Sophia an exasperated look covered in love, "You kind of drive me a little nuts, little lady. First Sophia, wasn't ever a cryer like this."

She nuzzled her baby's soft downy curls and inhaled her clean baby smell. Sophia, the second, was just as good she decided.

 _I won't fail you,_ Carol inwardly vowed. _Nothing will happen to you with me around. Not this time._

Seeing that Sophia was busy with eating, Carol slipped out her blue Nokia phone and the slip of paper with the odd job guy's number on it. She turned the piece of paper over in her hand. It was crinkled and fading from its original neon orange hue. _How old was this?_

She shook that errant question away. His name piqued her interest. Daryl Dixion. It was an interesting name for an odd job guy. _I kind of expected Bob or John, or something similar._

She dialed the number and waited for a bit. The dial tone beeped on for what seemed like ages before she heard a rough voice on the other end of the line. Her heart picked up, anxiety welling up into her chest. _Was this a good idea?_

"Hello?" her voice hesitantly called out. Carol could swear that there were two men arguing on the other end of the line.

"I'm ain't doin' nothing. Just got a little turned around. My wife is on the phone right now, if you don't believe me," a deep voice with a Southern twang rang out into her ear.

She raised a brow at that, as attractive as he sounded, she wasn't one to jump on a proposal like that. Confusion colored her face. _Did he mean **me**? I'm pretty sure I've never married in this life, and Carol from before didn't seem like she was into polygamy. Or cheating. _

Her thoughts were startled when a slightly higher masculine voice came over the phone, "Ma'am, is this man your husband?" He sounded authoritarian and doubtful of the first voice's claims.

Now, she could've told the other man, who was probably a police officer, that she didn't have a clue as to who Daryl Dixon was. There was a risk in that he was doing something morally repugnant that she may not agree with. He could be a criminal for all she knew. Her magic tingled and zinged under her skin. She had a good felling though. She hand't had that gut intuition in a long, long time.

Besides that, she wasn't too fond of the police. Especially because of her dealings with them in her last life, so there was that. Making up her mind she replied like any worried wife would, "Yes, who is this? Has my Daryl gotten turned around again? I'd asked him to go to that one little shop with the formula that our daughter likes because we're on our last can."

Inwardly, giggling, she hoped she sounded convincing enough. She didn't know who Daryl Dixon was, but she knew that he owed her one now. Perhaps that would make him more compliant in agreeing to be her hired hand for a time. It wasn't exactly easy to run a farm alone with a baby at hand, even with magic and technology combined.

A sheepish cough sounded out of her Nokia, "Ehm. Just a little, Mrs. Dixon. Found him by a shady looking shop near the dirtier part of town. This shop certainly doesn't deal in baby formula. Sorry about that, ma'am."

Her eyes narrowed at the mention of dirtier part of town. _Just what did this asshole mean?_

She did her best to control her rage. It wouldn't do to get Daryl into shit just because she assumed the officer was being a dick. Her daughter popped her bottle out of her mouth, and happily paused.

Carol blinked at the loss of her Sophia's noisy gulps. Glancing down at her for a moment, she scanned her daughter to see what was wrong. The baby in question, let out a happy little burp in response.

Her anger deflated at the sight of her baby's gummy smile. Deeply sighing she murmured, "Alright. Please let me talk to my husband then, officer -?"

"Linds Edwards, ma'am. Um...here's your husband," his voice paused and she could hear him chastising Daryl over the phone, "Shouldn't go round here, man. With a wife and kid, this neighborhood is shady."

She watched her daughter curl into her as her tiny eye lids fluttered closed. Her stomach grumbled in protest. It wasn't something she was unused to though.

 _Right. First things first. I need to put Sophia down and then I can eat. I hope this all wraps up soon. Even though I know what real hunger feels like, I don't want to prolong this discomfort. I'll start getting bitchy if I do. I suppose I'm glad that I didn't snap at the strange officer. It's lucky I managed to be that polite while I'm this hangry._

Daryl's voice sounded rough, "Yeah, thanks." He sounded wary and irritated to her, but the cop didn't say anything so maybe she was just imagining things.

Carol ran a gentle hand through her daughter's curls. The soft pats helped Sophia drift further and further off into dreamland.

"I'm comin' home now, honey. I'll look for baby formula first thing in the mornin'," Daryl gruffly intoned, but she could swear there was an undercurrent of laughter in his voice.

She decided that answering back would be too weird in this strange conversation. It was one thing to lie for him, but to continue without any explanation made her feel strange.

Sophia grasped onto her shirt and startled her slightly. Carol looked down and saw that Sophia had fallen fast asleep. What a good little girl.

"Drive safe," Officer Edward's voice called out from somewhere far away.

Daryl let out a gruff but polite, "Will do, officer."

A grunt could be heard from the end of his line before a car door slammed. A barking laugh sounded out and a deep sigh echoed out into her ear, "Man. I owe you one lady. Am I glad you're a lady. Wait... How did a lady get this number?"

The confusion was clear in his voice, so she decided that he wasn't being disingenuous with his line of questioning, "I found it in a odd jobs flyer by the Dawsonville community center. The one in the shopping district."

Daryl groaned and cursed, "Fuckin' Merle."

Carol blinked rapidly and frowned, "I'm sorry?"

A tired sigh escaped Daryl, "No. No, he shoulda taken down those flyers. Just probably forgot about em. It's my brother's way of contactin'...ehhh... He just didn't have a phone durin' that time and used my burner instead. Did him no good though..." He coughed slightly. His Southern accent deepening as his irritation grew.

Carol hummed and nodded, "Go on. I figured that I saved you some trouble from Officer Friendly, so I at least want to know what I saved you from."

Darly let out a short chuckle, "Heh. He was an Officer Friendly type. Well... Suppose that's fair. My brother, Merle, is into some shady shit-er...stuff. He was supposed to pick up some stuff from this cough syrup dealer. His supplier got there later than Merle could accept, so's my brother lost his temper. Again. Beat him up so hard that the cops came and they both got into shit. Theeennn, fuckin' Merle goes and calls me from the big house, no freaking bail this time, and asks his stupid baby brother, lil o'l me, to go pick up what may have dropped in the scuffle. Sometimes..."

Daryl growled and she heard something slam into something. Carol thought it might have been his fist against the dashboard or the steering wheel. It certainly sounded like this Merle character, big brother of his or not, was kind of a shit.

A deep fed up sigh could be heard from the other end of the line. Daryl murmured, "I'm sorry, for unloadin' this on yah, ma'am. Don't even know why you called this number..."

Suddenly, his tone changed. Suspicion was clearly laced in Daryl's voice when he asked, "Wait? You ain't one of Merle's dealers, are yah?"

Carol let out a guffaw and tilted her head back. An amused smile lit up her face, "Good lord, no. Wouldn't know how to be a dealer even if I wanted to. I called because I was looking for some help. I really do have a baby girl, and because of that it makes working on my farm alone kind of hard. I was hoping to hire you for a while until I could get things up and running. After that, you could stay on, or I could find someone else if we didn't click." She had a good feeling that it would work out though.

The line went silent for a while before she heard Daryl again, "Really? You still want to hire me after all you just heard?" His voice was small and hesitant.

Carol bit her lip and rolled her eyes, "Well, you're not a murder or serial killer are you?"

Daryl let out a surprised choking sound, "What!? No, but-"

Carol shrugged and an impish smile titled her lips, "So it doesn't matter. I like the sound of you, and I really do need some help. My name is Carol Mason, by the way. So, will you do it?"

"Ah... Ya know what, sure. Why the fuck not. Serve Merle right for doing what he did. Do yah have an address, Mrs. Mason?" His voice sounded more determined, but she could swear there was still a bit of hesitance there.

She bit her lip in contemplation before shaking her head, "Just Miss, not Mrs, and please just call me Carol. And it's Hidden Hill Grange 3641 highway 400 N, Dawsonville Georgia."

He let out a low whistle, "Huh. You weren't jokin' about the Dawsonville part. It'll take me a bit to get to yah, if you really want ta hire me, Carol. Ya don't exactly know me, and in this day in age yah gotta know people before yah invite 'em over to your house. Especially with a little baby girl, if you don't mind me sayin' so..."

She let out a slight guffaw, "Yeah, I know, but I have a good feeling about you Daryl Dixion. You should trust me when I say, my good feelings usually turn out okay. I promise."

He hummed, "...Alright. It'll be a couple hours heading out from where I am now. I'm coming from Albany to get to yah. And we should really discuss the particulars."

Carol blinked as a sense of surprise covered her tone, "Oh. I didn't realize that you lived so far away. You could always take one of my guest bedrooms, if you'd like."

Darly let out a slight laugh, "You really are somethin' different, Carol. Yah don't give your guestroom to strangers that work for yah. What if I do end up being a murder or somethin'?"

A smile threatened to overwhelm her face, so she bit her cheek and murmured, "I doubt it, but if you don't have a place to go, I don't mind."

A deep sigh resonated out of Daryl, "Coulda just slept in my truck. Slept in worst places, so it's okay."

That thought made her grimace. Putting someone out in weather like this, even in a car, was loathsome. She'd persuade him to take a guestroom. It wasn't like she didn't have the space.

Carol resolutely nodded and stated, "Well, we can talk about it later when you get here. It'll be nice to meet you, Daryl."

He let out a happy sound as the sound of an engine revving up came through the line, "You got a deal, Carol. See you soon."

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AN: Thank you to everyone that followed, favorited, read and reviewed this story so far! I really appreciate it. The support really helps me keep going. A special thanks to the Guests, Scarlet, and Marlene! You guys are lovely.

Guest: Thank you so much! I'm glad that you love this story so far. I'm cycling through the stories as I update one by one, so it won't be forever and a day for the next update.

Scarlet: I'm delighted to know that. Your reviews make me ecstatic! They also help with my motivation. I'm happy that you like the new picture for Mortal Coil. It took quite a bit of time and went through a couple redesigns, but I'm quite happy with how it is right now. Her small ripples are starting and I'm so excited to write it all out. It should be interesting.

Marlene: Thank you, I'm glad you love it so far! It's more Eleanor than Carol, but there are remnants of Carol that was left behind. It's why she keeps having flashbacks of both her life and Carol's life. Right now they're not completely melded yet, but once they do it'll be Elanor with a Carol swirl. They both have a core of steel though when pressed, if you're talking about how strong Carol gets in the show.

Guest: I'm glad that you love this story so far!


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five: And Now We Meet**

The wind whistled outside, shaking her shutters. A long beep rang in her ears. Carol paused as she listened to the dial tone. She turned the Nokia phone around in her hand with a quiet hum, fingering the stiff new buttons. _He's gone and is on his way here..._

Her thoughts were broken when her stomach grumbled at her once more. Sophia let out soft tiny snores as she snoozed on her lap. Quirking a smile, she scooped up her baby with little difficulty and went about putting Sophia into her crib for the night.

With her baby tucked away in her crib, one baby monitor turned on while the other was securely tucked into her jeans' pocket, Carol made her way back to the kitchen. _How long did he mean?_

She chewed on her lower lip in thought. Tentatively she peeked past her kitchen curtains. Carol stared at the sky out past the window over her deep farmhouse sink. Light ebbed, swirls of pinks, yellows, oranges, and lavender sank below the horizon. The hues smeared and smudged together against the hard wind that whirled around her. It reminded her of powdered tropical fruit punch dissolving in a cold glass of water.

The trees on her property were shadowed and swaying against the velvet sky. Birds braced against the weather as they flew home to roost. They were dark silhouettes against the rising curtain of twilight.

The remaining phosphorescence from the gradually dimming sky, danced and glittered along the window panes in front of her. Her warm kitchen lights shined against the darkening window. As the sun slowly sank further into the woods, what little warmth that it had brought earlier, seeped away into a promise of a frigid night to come.

Soft flurries of snow puffs madly danced down from the sky. She shivered and held her arms closer around herself. Carol narrowed her eyes at the outside. It'd probably keep going another inch or so tonight.

She noted to herself that she'd need to turn up the thermostat in the house. Besides that, she'd probably need to set up the property with climate wards in addition to the one blood protection ward she'd set up.

Tapping her lower lip, she inwardly hummed. A climate ward that wouldn't terribly alter the land around her. She didn't want to live in a tropical paradise. But, she did want something that would make the weather less harsh. She'd have to scribble the few ideas she had down somewhere. Idly she wondered, if she had any notebooks and pens around the house.

Shaking her head to rid herself of those thoughts, she turned her attention back to her growling stomach. Quickly scrubbing her hands clean, she got the ingredients together to make some steaks, fried mushrooms and mashed potatoes. Sure, she could've conjured something substantial up, but she was doing her damnest to not rely on magic for absolutely everything. It was hard though. The rush that she felt. The freedom that it brought her. Well, in this life at least. It was like a huge weight was lifted off of her shoulders.

The tingle of magic under her skin made her feel safe. Not only safe, but like she could finally do anything. Like, she could be anyone she liked in this new world. Someone who wasn't just trying to survive day to day. It'd be so easy to just snap her fingers and get exactly what she wanted. No real work required.

Carol shook those temptations away. She didn't have an infinite amount of energy here. The air didn't permeate magic like in her last life. There was a null void in the clean air around here in this dimension. She had to consider that she didn't have an endless well of magic to draw upon when she wanted to bend a bit of reality to her will. It would've been great if that was the case though.

Pulling out two steaks, just in case Daryl was hungry when he arrived, she placed them onto her kitchen island. It wouldn't help her to dwell on what she couldn't do here though. Scrunching up her nose, she hummed once more. She figured that, while conjuration required a bit of stamina, animating things into moving required little to no stamina on her part. Plus, it was sort of like she was doing work. With a cat-like grin stretchering across her face, Carol bounced on the heels of her feet. An idea cranked the gears in her brain at a rapid pace.

With a twinkle in her eyes, Carol snapped her fingers and 'Little bitty pretty one' started up on her radio. With the slight blare of music, she twirled her finger in languid circles. Potatoes, mushrooms, and butter danced out of the fridge. Mixing bowls, frying pans, a pot, and other utensils she needed also danced up to the kitchen island. Narrowing her eyes at the pantry, salt, spices, and garlic floated to the kitchen island as well.

Humming and swaying her hips to the tune of the song, she pointed at the stove. It flicked on and with a flick of her fingers, the steaks and mushrooms flew onto frying pans before situating themselves onto the stove top. Bopping her head to the beat, she waved her hand this way and that, much like a conductor of an orchestra. The potatoes peeled themselves, the pot filled itself with water, and the whole process of making herself dinner seemed to become much more fun. Sure, Carol felt an infinitesimal drain on her magic, but she figured this bit of fun was worth it.

With the steaks and mushrooms sizzling on the stove, and the potatoes boiling in the pot, Carol set about making a peach cobbler for dessert. She didn't really know if her incoming guest would like it, or if her daughter could even eat it tomorrow, but she was fond of peach cobbler. It had been her favorite treat in her last life. The last treat she had, before the world she had come from went to shit.

Carol shook those dreary thoughts away, like a dog in the rain. Deftly chopping up the peaches she had summoned to her, she continued following the instructions in the cookbook. The clocked tick tocked away and soon, after a couple hours, all the food was done.

The kitchen was warm and seemed to hum as the food plated themselves. Dirty dishes, utensils, pots pans, mixing bowls, and the like gathered themselves and proceeded in a line to dunk themselves into a watery soapy sink. As they popped up, dripping and still dirty, Carol waved them towards the dishwasher. With a smirk, her kitchen was a whirl with activity with just a gesture here and there.

With the dishwasher fully loaded, she clicked it closed and switched it on. It hummed and steamed away, while she quickly sprayed and wiped everything down. Carol inwardly noted, a bigger kitchen meant it would take longer cleaning by hand like this. She realized though, that it wasn't bad. It made her feel more accomplished somehow. She'd keep a note of that.

Everything shined and glimmered, clean against the bright glow of her kitchen lights. Her dining table was expertly done up in a simple farm table cloth. She grinned and thought that it would look lovely with the all hearty dishes that had been cooked up.

The smell of garlic, cooked meat, fried mushrooms, mashed potatoes and cobbler permeated the air. She decided to forgo magic and manually placed it all on the dining table with a flourish.

The steaks were perfectly seasoned, juicy, seared brown, and crosshatched on the outside. They lay in their own juices in a pose suggestive of unmatched succulence next to a pile of freshly fried mushrooms. They were huge slabs of meat: sirloins, an inch thick and a foot wide, their edges drooping over the side of the serving plate. She could just imagine the butter like consistency, just slightly tougher than pâté and their unbelievably juiciness.

A whiff of something buttery and savory drew her nose to the fluffy mashed potatoes that lay innocently in their large bowl beside the steaks. The fried mushrooms lay delectably beside it. And in a colorful casserole dish, a flaky peach cobbler rested. The caramelized sugar that clung to the crust on the cobbler, glinted against the warm dining room lights.

It may not have been all made by hand, but it was technically all made by her. This would've taken ages if she had her magic bound. The sheer relief at just the possibility of using magic to make her life just a little bit easier, still struck her as something wondrous. Hell, if you'd asked her, Carol would admit this entire new life was a wondrous miracle. _Previous marital...er-almost martial, problems aside._

As she looked at all of it, she snapped her fingers in frustration. She forgot the gravy. Weighing her options, she let out a sigh. Making gravy from scratch was a bit time consuming, and she really was quite hungry. Her stomach growled in agreement.

Feeling slightly disappointed with herself, she snapped her fingers her magic zigzagging in the air. The air seemed to ripple and twist for a moment. Not a second later, a gravy boat full of rich dark gravy appeared onto the table. The savory smell mixed in with the feast before her, adding another layer of deliciousness.

Her mouth watered as her stomach groaned in agreement. Just before she could take a seat and dig in, a loud knock echoed out from her front door. The wind whistled again. _Right. I had someone coming over. I knew that. Can't let him freeze out there._

With quick and quiet footsteps that belied her weight, Carol scurried to her front door. Pausing and straightening herself, she carefully opened the door and peeked out "Oh, hello?"

A tall wiry man looked down at her, caution clearly splayed on his face. His hair was dark shade of brown and shaggy, which matched his ripped flannel shirt, leather jacket and ashy blue jeans. The dirt streaked combat boots tied the image all together. He seemed...rough, but not in a bad way.

The man shifted his weight from one leg to another, "Hey. Are you Carol Mason?" His hands were firmly jammed into his pockets, his eyes were slightly obscured by the shadows from the dim porch lights and his long hair. White specks of snow dotted his dark hair and long lashes.

Fully opening the door, Carol let the light from her hallway stream onto him. The hallway light highlighted his startlingly dark china blue eyes and the rough five o'clock shadow that covered his lower face.

Her cheeks dimpled, as her eyes crinkled in delight, "Sure am. You must be the odd jobs guy." It wasn't everyday she had a handsome man on her porch, and she couldn't help but ogle him slightly.

He nodded his head and gruffly murmured, "Daryl Dixon, at your service, ma'ma." His shoulders were slumped in a way that reminded her of something wary and cautious. Kind of like a deer in the woods, just after hearing a rustle of leaves.

She did her best to force her face into something more open and welcoming. It wouldn't do to make him feel skittish and cause him to flee.

Yanking the door open further, she gestured for him to come in, "No need for that. Come in, come in. I have dinner on the table if you're hungry, Mr. Dixon."

He took hesitant footsteps in through the threshold of her house, biting his inner cheek, "I don't want to intrude. And uh... It's Daryl. Mr. Dixon was my pa. He's dead, so..."

Gently, she pushed him further into her house with a nudge of her arm. Firmly closing the door behind them, Carol shook her head, "Oh, I'm sorry. Still, my offer for a bed and food for you coming all the way out here, wasn't a joke, _Daryl_. Truly. Don't worry about it." With a smile and a shrug she gestured for him to walk with her.

Daryl nodded and sheepishly grinned, "It was a long drive from Albany to here, to be honest. 'Bout four hours or so- Are those steaks and mashed potatoes?"

He paused in the middle of the hallway that led to the kitchen. His nose twitched, as he took in the savory scents that wafted over to him. They beckoned him to come closer as his stomach replied with gurgles and growls.

With an impish twinkle in her eyes, she looped her arm with his and gently tugged him to the kitchen, "Mhmm. With fried mushrooms, gravy, and peach cobbler for dessert."

Letting out a long low whistle, he looked around and paused at the feast before him. No one had ever lain out a feast like this when he was growing up. The Dixon men were never welcomed like this anywhere. Not to his knowledge anyway.

With a small pit of worry spreading in his stomach, he breathed in the delicious smell before him, "Well, damn. You have someone fancy coming over?"

He couldn't see it as anything else. It clearly showed on his face, and Carol felt a determined zing bloom in her heart.

She let go of his arm, feeling the lack of warmth at her side keenly. Shaking her head and carelessly shrugging she shot him a warm grin, "Nope. Just you, and I figured why not?"

Daryl froze for a moment. His eyes rapidly blinked before they turned wary when he looked back at her after staring at the food once more, "You, rich folks, eat like this all the time?"

Her eyes crinkled while her nose wrinkled slightly, "Not all the time, and I'm not rich." With that, she took a seat at the table and shot him a welcoming grin.

Coughing into his hand he nodded and roughly took a seat beside her, " _Right_. Sure, you don't mind?" His shoulders were tight and his tone was unsure, but Carol didn't let that phase her.

With an easy going expression that bellied her nerves, she tilted her head and nodded, "Oh, please. Please join me. It'd been odd to eat all this alone."

He slid into a chair beside her. Daryl twitched, still a little unsure, he nodding at her patient expression, "After you, ma'am."

A swell of irritation made her insides roll. She wasn't someone scary. It wasn't like she would bite. Inwardly rolling her eyes, she felt a little bit better when he moved towards her. He sat tucked in beside her, not too far, but not too close either. Which was fine, they didn't know each other well, but she wasn't used to being someone that could actually make someone nervous.

His warmth radiated from him, and she could swear he faintly smelt like, gasoline, leather, dirt and trees. She cleared her throat as she piled her plate with food, "Carol. Please call me Carol. I'm only 21. I'm too young to be called ma'am."

He pulled the other steak onto his plate and contemplated piling more food beside it. At that declaration, he quirked his brow and pursed his lips, "Huh. Didn't think you were younger'n me, Carol. Thank you for the food."

She nodded, smiling between bites. It wasn't the smoothest meeting, but she figured that the food was helping dull down the awkward edges of their first impressions of one another. Maybe it would cause him to feel just an iota more relaxed in her presence.

For awhile, all that could be heard between them was the scraping of utensils against their plates. Both of them were quietly chewing and swallowing, an amicable silence hung between them. Carol was pleased that he seemed to be inhaling the food that she'd made. She wasn't the greatest cook in the world, but she was glad that this was good in his opinion. Well, if his actions reflected his opinion, anyways.

With a satisfied grunt, Daryl pulled himself from the table slumping into his seat. His shoulders relaxed as he shot her a small grin, "Thanks again. I can't remember the last time I had a home cooked meal before."

Finishing off her last bit of steak and potatoes, a happy hum vibrated throughout her chest, "I'm happy that you liked it. Earlier, you said you were older than me?"

He certainly didn't look like someone older than her. When she'd first seen him, she'd assumed she'd been older than him. Maybe it was the stress lines in her face from always getting beaten on by Ed. Idly, Carol wondered if that would ever fade.

He tilted his head slightly before giving her a short nod, "Mhmm. 'Bout 3 years. Just turned 24 in June." The warm atmosphere, the pretty lady, and a full belly loosened his lips. He hadn't felt comfortable in a stranger's presence like this in ages.

Her eyes lightly twinkled and crinkled as her lips tilted up, "Huh. That's good to know." It wasn't a big age gap. Besides, she'd made friends with older people in her last life before. It wouldn't be something that'd get in the way of her goal of befriended Daryl. _I need to have actual friends in this world, and I think he seems trustworthy enough..._

With nothing else left to say, she hurriedly started gathering up the dirty dishes. A slightly startled and embarrassed look crossed over Daryl's face. Without any prompts or ques, Daryl picked up the other dishes and followed after Carol. She tossed him a grateful smile over her shoulder. Seeing her blatant gratitude, made his cheeks flush.

Soon enough the leftovers were packed away, the dishes washed, dried, and put away. Carol leaned against the kitchen counter, drying her hands with a nearby kitchen towel. Her cheeks dimpled as her eyes trailed over Daryl's face, "Hey. Thank you for helping me clean. You didn't have to." She held out the towel towards him.

Gingerly taking the towel, Daryl dried his hands and grunted, "Was nothing'."

She shrugged, her gaze sharpened just a smidgen, "Now, onto the brass tacks. Would you like to work for me? Running a new farm from the ground up isn't going to be easy, especially when I have my daughter to consider."

Yes, she knew magic could help, but she also knew that it couldn't actually replace more hands. And more hands would make this new life of hers easier. Which meant, her new little daughter could enjoy being a child instead of just focusing on surviving.

A frown pinched Daryl's forehead as he placed the slightly damp towel onto the kitchen island, "Speakin' of which. Why start up a farm with the little one in tow? I know a couple rich folks in a similar position, and they just settled into the city. Harsher life on a farm than the city."

Sure he and his older brother had grown up in a small town like this, albeit in the backwoods portion, but it wasn't like they had a choice. He'd met and seen enough people talk about small towns with derision enough to know that it wasn't exactly something everyone wanted.

Carol leaned her back against the kitchen island and bonelessly shrugged, arms crossed, "I don't mind. And you do have a good point. I just don't like crowded places, and a farm lets me have that space from society. Do you know what I mean?"

There was also added security. In a small town, she could add as many wards and non magical bits of security, and no one would look at them funny. Besides that, less people meant less compitition for finite supplies. Plus less danger from potentially dangerous people.

He coughed, shifting from one foot to the other, "Seeing how I grew up in the backwoods of a small town, I get it. Them big cities, they feel claustrophobic sometimes."

Her blue eyes brightened, her heels bounced slightly, "Exactly. You get it. So what do you say?"

Daryl felt his heart speed up at the sight of her wide eyes staring up at him. He felt a lump in his throat. Coughing, he nodded, "Ahh... Sure. Why the hell not? You got yourself a deal, Miss Carol." He held out his hand.

With a bright grin, Carol gripped his hand with hers. She shook his hand for just a moment too long before dropping it. Weaving a hand in her hair, a sheepish look flitted onto her face, "You don't have to call me Miss. Actually... Please don't call me Miss."

Shoving his hands into his jeans, Daryl raised a brow, "Tain't right. You're my boss now. I'm gonna keep callin' yah Miss."

With a deep sigh, Carol scratched at her cheek, a blush flooding onto her face, "Please don't. Please _just_... It makes me feel uncomfortable. Yah know. It's just Carol. Umm... Would you like to see the guest bedroom?"

She shot him a hesitant grin, gesturing at the hallway that lead to the guest room. Her nerves made her heart thump harder. _I didn't offend him, did I?_

He nodded, a thoughtful expression encroaching onto his face, "Alright. If you're still offerin' it. If it bothers you that much... Just somethin' about respectin' a lady my momma taught me, is all."

They languidly walked down the hallway and up a flight of stairs. Arms nearly brushing now and again. Their steps echoed against the walls in tandem.

Carol hummed, pulling her hands behind her. She wrung her hands this way and that, "I definitely am still offerin'. And... I'm all about respecting people's opinions and habits, to a degree. I just don't feel the need to be called Miss. I'm grateful that you think I'm a lady though. Never been called that before."

A snort bubbled out of Daryl as he shook his head, "Well, the people from the other place you came from didn't know nothin' about what a lady is then. Ehhm... This is sure a nice place. Land looked good too, even covered under the snow."

She blinked, it was an odd change in topic. Inwardly shrugging, a warm smile spread across her face, "Yeah, I think so too. The forest's pretty big and so were the ponds and the lake. I figure, when it gets warmer, the hunting and fishing will be good around here. Mind you, I didn't make it this nice. I just bought it this way. Moved in just yesterday, if you can believe it."

Daryl raised a brow, intrigue drawn across his visage, "Yeah? You like huntin'? You don't look the type."

A laugh bubbled out of her making her throw back her head. Chuckling, her eyes were bright as she glanced over at him, "My daddy used to take me hunting when I was younger. I stopped for a while. Not because I wanted to... And why not go hunting? It's good to know how to hunt, gather, and the like. Besides, with all the game on my land, it'd be stupid not to. And, since we're starting over in a new place, why not start hunting again?"

A pinched frown formed on Daryl's lips. Concern flashed in his eyes, "Huh... You running from something?"

He remembered his momma trying to run from his old man. They ran and ran. They almost made it to a woman's shelter before they got caught. The beating his mother had that day after almost killed her. He'd never want someone to go through the same unfortunate events that happened in his childhood.

Carol's lips pulled down, her eyes dulled slightly at the memories that threatened to overwhelm her. She shook her head, making them fade away. A wary worn smile wobbled onto her face, "Yes and no. It's a rather long story. Anyway, this is your room. I hope you like it."

She gestured to the closed door in front of them. Pausing for a moment, she opened the door and flicked on the lights.

Warm lights bathed the room in a comforting glow. The mint green walls turned darker under the artificial lights. A white door stood out against the painted walls. The white and blue bedding stood out against the dark wood flooring. It didn't contain much else, furniture wise. A single night stand along with a mirror beside the closet was really all there was besides the bed.

Daryl looked this way and that before he let out a long low whistle, "This is really nice. Thanks." It was sparse, but it was bigger than any room he'd ever really had. It was a damn sight better than sleeping in his truck again. He hadn't slept in a real bed in weeks.

She bounced on the back of her heels, her chest felt tight. Shoving her hands into her pockets, Carol pulled on a nervous grin, "Oh, you're welcome. Umm... That door over there is the en-suite bathroom. My room is just down the hall if you need anything. Good night, Daryl. It was lovely meeting you."

He nodded at her, his lips lightly lifting into a half smile, "Nice meetin' you too, Carol. And... If you _are_ runnin' from someone... Well, I got your back. G'night." With that, he gingerly closed his door.

A hot flush spread across her cheeks as strode towards her room. Quickly checking on her baby, she confirmed Sophia was still fast asleep and breathing. It made her relax, but her chest still felt funny. A deep sigh escaped her.

As Carol lay tucked up in her warm fluffy bed, she stared at her bare left hand in the dark. She spread her fingers against the dim light that streamed through her thin curtains. The wind whistled outside, making her wriggle further into her blankets. She turned her hand this way and that, humming quietly to herself. _He feels familiar somehow, but I can't put my finger on as to why._

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AN: Thank you to everyone that followed, favorited, read and reviewed this story so far! The support really helps me keep going. A double thanks to those that reviewed. You guys are amazing!

Shelbysamgirl1: I'm so glad that you like it so far. c:

Luthien Faye: Thank you so much! I'm happy that you're liking this story so far, and I hope you liked how Daryl was introduced in this chapter. I'm quite happy with this version of Carol as well. I will do my best.

Guest A: I hope you liked this chapter. Updates were supposed to be monthly alternating with each story, but life has gotten in the way and my depression isn't really helping. I'll update when I can, but it might take a little bit for them to become as consistent as I want them to be.

Kikari no segaui: Thank you for all of your awesome reviews! I'm happy that you've liked the theme all of my stories have taken to having. You are awesome. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter.

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Guest C: Sorry about the long wait.

Guest D: Thank you! I hope that you liked this chapter.

Latoddie21: I'm happy that you like it so far. c:


	7. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six: Settling In**

The sun slowly rose, unfurling like a flower. Pure scattered light; swirls of orange, yellow, and white, illuminated each crevice of her new room. Sparrows chirped their melodies in the high trees that surrounded her new home breaking the silence of a new day.

Carol slowly breathed in the cold air that leaked into her room. In and out. In and out. Letting the cool clean country air suffuse her, felt like it would never get tiring.

She felt the warm rays of sunlight dance across her closed eyelids and sighed. Her bed hugged her in its warm embrace and, for now, it felt too cozy to leave. These were the kinds of moments that she loved. The little moments that she could never enjoy when she was just trying to survive from day to day back in her last life.

Prying open her eyes, she blinked against the splotches of light that blinded her for a moment. Scrubbing her eyes, letting the last vestiges of sleep fall away, she yawned before stretching out. Pops and cracks ran up her back, causing a satisfied moan to escape past her parted lips. Letting her head loll to the side, she squinted at the the alarm clock that sat on her nightstand. It's bright blue numbers blinked at her. 6 AM.

 _Well damn. This wasn't exactly the time I wanted to wake up. Oh well. At least this means I have more time to do what I need to do._

Pulling herself up into a sitting position, she blinked and hummed. Her blankets slipped down, pooling around her waist. She shivered as the cool air tickled her exposed neck. This just reinforced the fact that going to sleep in flannel pajamas had been a good choice.

She cracked her neck, relishing the popping sensation. Carol was wholly unconcerned about her rumpled mop of hair, or how unpolished she looked right now. It was one of the things that the old Carol would've bemoaned. Sure, she liked looking pretty, just as much as the next girl, but why should she care right now?

Glaring down at the hardwood floor below her, she pried herself away from the warm confines of her bed. The cold floor made her flinch as she stood up. It was as though pinpricks of ice had gripped at her previously warm feet. Hugging her arms closer to her body, she grumbled to herself under her breath, "I need to charm the goddamn floors. Jesus, it's cold."

Shuffling about her bedroom, she finally found some house slippers and a housecoat. With a happy hum of triumph, Carol slipped on her housecoat and slippers. Now feeling a new source of warmth, softened her nerves as she exited her room to check up on her baby and her house guest.

Tiptoeing down the cold hallway, Carol noted that she should've probably left the heat on throughout the house and not just in the guest room and her daughter's room. A little magic would probably do away with the problem without eating away at any electricity or propane. She inwardly noted that down onto her mental to-do list.

Silently slipping into Sophia's room, she peered down at her snoozing daughter with a soft smile. She looked so cute and sweet. Too adorable to wake up right now. Exiting just as stealthily as she came in, she walked over to the guest room.

Carol chewed on the bottom of her lip, her nerves felt strained as her heart thudded in her ears. Clenching her fist and relaxing it a couple times, she contemplated knocking on the door. Before she could gather up her courage to knock, the guest bedroom door quietly swung open.

Daryl paused and shot her a curious look. His hair was wet. The faint smell of Irish Spring soap wafted off of him. He still wore his clothes from last night, but that was to be expected. He didn't really take a suitcase up with him last night. She idly wondered if he needed some basic necessities.

He shifted his weight from one foot to the next, "Mornin' Carol."

A hot flush painted her cheeks as she coughed into her hand, "Good morning, Daryl. Coffee?"

His eyes twinkled at the mention of coffee, nodding he gestured to the hallway, "Thank you. After you."

Carol robotically nodded and gathered up her embarrassment as she steadily strode down the hallway, down the stairs towards the kitchen. Daryl trailed behind her, a lopsided grin grew on his face. He found it cute at how awkward she was being right now. No one really got flustered like this because of him. It was a nice feeling.

Moving up to match her pace, Daryl matched her footsteps. He rose a brow, a curious look flickered onto his face, "You up this early all the time?"

She blinked rapidly before shaking her head. A sheepish grin tugged at her lip, "Oh! Yes and no. Sophia used to always wake up at 4 am for a couple months there. Plus, I'm used to waking up earlier in the morning. My daddy used to have me help work at his butcher's shop before... Well, before when he and my momma were alive, and I hadn't gotten myself in some trouble. How about you?"

Carol flushed as she finished off rambling. It felt as though she'd said all that in one breath, but Daryl seemed to understand her. He also didn't seem to mind it too much when she did start rambling. It was definitely more proof that she'd made the right choice in hiring him.

Daryl's eyes crinkled, "Yeah. 'M used to it. Hunting's better when there's first light out. Even in the winter. There's ice fisihin', sometimes rabbits, and deer now and again. If I'm lucky that is."

By now they'd made it down to the kitchen, but their conversation continued to flow between them. Carol placed in a filter, some ground coffee, and flicked on the coffee maker. It gurgled and cachunked to life filling the silence around them.

She pursed her lips in thought before tilting her head, "Have you always hunted? Milk and sugar?"

She glanced at the pantry and fridge. There was definitely milk and sugar in the house. Oh, she was definitely glad she'd gone grocery shopping before hiring him.

He cleared his throat, before giving her a short nod, "Yup. Dixon tradition. One of the few good uns. Just sugar, please. You?"

Absently nodding she grabbed the milk and sugar before returning back to the coffee maker. Gently placing everything onto a nearby tray she ambled back over to him, "Mhmm. Here you are. Careful, it's still piping hot." She slid over a hot mug along with a spoon and the sugar jar.

Absentmindedly stirring milk and sugar into her coffee, Carol continued, "While I was still little my daddy started taking me hunting. About around when I was around 8. It was a tradition between me and him. Stopped recently, but I'm planning on remedying that. You mentioned hunting in the winter. Do you think you could show me sometime during this winter season?"

Daryl had a thoughtful look on his face before blowing into his mug. He stirred in a good couple dollops of sugar before he took a tentative sip. A satisfied hum reverberated in his chest, "Good coffee. Thanks. Ehh... I could, but... S'not something you can really do with a little one in tow. Guns spook young uns."

She furrowed her forehead as she raised a brow at that thought, "Oh, I don't have to use a gun. I have some cross bows and plenty of arrows. Don't know how to use them, mind you. I just really need to get back into the swing of hunting." Carol shrugged and let out a sheepish chortle. Better to know how to hunt and forage in case... Well, just in case.

He gave her a considering look before slowly nodding, "Huh. Well, if yah'r so insistent... Sure. Speakin' of teaching. Whatcha want me to do around here?" Taking another gulp of his cooling coffee, Daryl took another cursory look around him. The farmhouse didn't really look like it needed work in or out on the property. Appearances could be deceiving though.

Finishing off the last gulp of coffee in her mug, a bright grin spread across her face, "That's a very good question. Well, I was thinking-"

A miserable cry sounded out through the kitchen. The baby monitor on the counter flashed red. She bit her lower lip and scratched at the back of her neck, "Oh! That's Sophia. I'm sorry, I'll be right back."

He shook his head. A look of understanding softened his eyes, "Nah, don't worry 'bout it none. You go on. Yah'r girl needs you." He didn't ever want to get in the way of a mother and her child. Daryl'd never want to be anything like his old man. Never.

She shot him a beaming grin before jetting off towards her crying daughter. Carol hurried up through her house towards the sounds of her daughter's wailing cries. Finding her little girl sitting up and scrubbing her eyes as tears streamed down her chubby cheeks, pinched her heart in half. Shushing her daughter, Carol picked her up and cuddled her into her chest. Cooing into her curling hair, she murmured sweet reassurances as she slowly walked back to the kitchen.

Sophia's cries dwindled down into whines as she pressed her face into her mother's chest. Hiccups escaped her now and again, but she didn't care. Her mother's scent surrounded her, and her dreams faded away from behind her eyes. She blinked her big blue eyes up at her, happy that the promise of food would probably be coming soon. After all, her mother always made sure to feed her, unlike the angry man in her hazy memories.

Bouncing her baby in her arms, she shot him a curious look, "So... Hey. You ever been around kids?" Sure, he was great around her, but she didn't exactly know how he'd be around her baby girl. She wasn't even too sure how'd Sophia would react to another male. The only other male she'd had contact with was someone who abused her. Carol inwardly flinched at that thought.

Daryl finished off his drink and gathered her empty cup with his. Gently placing them into the empty sink, he pursed his lips in thought, "No, not really. Not even when I was a kid. Them folks around my town, didn't want their kids associatin' with 'no good' Dixons." Shame danced on his face before a neutral expression shaded his thoughts.

Carol bit her inner cheek and snorted as she walked over to stand by him, "Well, they were obviously wrong. This is Sophia, my daughter. Sweetie, this is Daryl. He'll be helping us settle into our new lives." She turned her baby towards him, and Sophia peeked up her darling blue eyes at him. She shot him a half gummy smile, letting her head turn slightly on her mother's chest to get a better look at this new person. A couple beats of silence passed between all of them before she started making grabbing motions at him.

An uncomfortable and cautions look spread across his face as he muttered, "Uh. Why's she doin' that?"

She glanced down at her wriggling daughter, "Ya know, I'm not sure. I kind of thought that she would be skittish around other people. Mind you, other people were just her no good sperm donor. He was piece of work. This little lady knew it too. And the people in town didn't really spend more than a minute near her to make an impression, really. Sweet girl, what do you want?"

Sophia whined at her mother and made the grabbing motions towards Daryl even harder. Her wiggles were making it hard for her mother to hold her securely.

Concern replaced the caution on his face, Daryl stared at the baby trying to grab at him, "Huh. I think I know what you might mean. Too well. Umm... Do yah want a hand?"

Blowing away a stray hair that had gotten into her face, she let out a deep irritated sigh. She didn't know why her daughter was acting this way, but it wasn't something that she was currently enjoying, "Oh, ahh. Sure. If you want. She can hold her head up on her own, so you just have to hold her kind of like this."

Letting her daughter fall into his open arms, Sophia wiggled her tiny tush and made herself comfortable in Daryl's arms. She let her little head fall onto his shoulder as she clutched at him, her adorable little baby hands fisting his shirt.

A bemused look flitted onto his face, his eyes softened, "She's huggin' me." Nothing this tiny and innocent had ever immediately hugged and trusted like this. His heart started to swell for these new people. Sure he'd only known them for less than 24 hours, but they'd been nicer than 90% of the people that he'd had the unfortunate chance of meeting throughout his life. Was it because Merle wasn't here? Maybe. Was it just luck being on his side this time? Also a distinct possibility. In either case, a soft smile pulled up his lips.

Carol grin so wide her dimples pinched her cheeks, "Yeah. Yeah she is." She inwardly did a little happy jig. It was a good sign that her daughter liked this man as well. Did she have a good feeling about him too?

Moving his weight from one foot to the next he murmured, "Closest thing I've ever held like this were pups." Flashes of big brown puppy eyes streamed behind his eyes before fading away.

She tilted her head and did the best to imprint the two of them into her head before humming, "Did they like you just as much as my little girl?" Being liked by animals and small children was a sign of a good person, right?

He nodded and gently bounced Sophia in his arms, "Yeah. After a little while. Had to coax em', but they warmed right up ta me. A'fore my pa got to em anyways." Their drowning whines haunted him sometimes when he thought about getting close to people. They didn't take to his pa, and he made it so that they didn't take to anyone. That memory made him cautions to become close to anyone else, person or animal.

Sophia nuzzled this new man and gnawed at him with her gums and two sprouting teeth. Drool started coating his shoulder, but neither adult seemed to be aware of what she was doing right now.

Carol leaned against the kitchen counter, a curious grin lifted her lips, "Were you always an odd jobs guy?

Daryl blinked repeated for a moment, slightly caught off guard at her change in topic. A deep hum reverberated through his chest before he replied, "Had to be. Only really graduated high school and then Merle came back for me. We kept bouncin' around so much that I didn't really have the chance to do somethin' about it. Plus, more people know about Dixons then I would want. Like a black shadow clingin' to me. Makes it hard for steady work."

She shot him a friendly wink, as a chortle escaped her before she could help it, "Well, consider this your big break. And, if you did want to learn something for the future... I wouldn't be adverse to you doing what you need to do."

He raised a brow, his throat suddenly felt thick, "Wow. That's mighty kind of you, Carol. I don't think I could do that though. I just met yah. And yeah, yer girl does have a seem to have taken a shine to me, but that don't make takin' advantage of yer kindness any better."

His accent came out more when he was anxious, and he was well aware of it. This sort of kindness made Daryl wait for some other shoe to drop. Life was never this kind to him. How'd he managed to get with people this kind, was beyond him.

A teasing grin wound it's way onto Carol's face as she wiggled her brows, "So you do have an inkling."

The drool had finally soaked his shoulder through. Blinking repeatedly, he glanced down at him and stared at Sophia, "She's gnawing on me." It didn't hurt, but it was surprising.

An embarrassed smile crossed her face as she gently and hurriedly took her daughter back into her arms, "Oh, I'm sorry. Here. I can get her some food. There you are, sweet girl. You wanna sit on the couch before I make us some breakfast? I want to get her settled and happy before I have to putt about."

With the red flush slowly ebbing away from her face, Carol settled her daughter into her arms while she grabbed a pre-made bottle from the fridge. Falling into remembered motions, she flitted about her new kitchen heating up the bottle cradling her daughter in one hand.

He grunted and motioned for her to go ahead of him with a gesture of his head. Daryl didn't mind not being the center of attention. It didn't really sit well with him in any case. Being the center of attention usually meant danger anyways.

As Sophia greedily drunk down her milk, Carol glanced at Daryl's thoughtful expression with a curious glint, "Sooo?"

His attention verred back at her, his throat suddenly dry for some reason. Shaking off the strange sensation, he coughed and raised a brow, "So, what?"

Smiling softly at him, Carol tilted her head, "If you had the opportunity to learn some sort of skill you didn't already have, what would it be?"

He bit the inside of his cheek, "Ehh..." That wasn't something he really shared with anyone.

Her grin widened, as her eyes danced, "I promise that I won't think none of it. Tell you what. I'll expose my secret ambitions when I was little girl, if it'll help. I used to be want to be a ballerina as a little girl. Can't now, but a girl can dream." She didn't really know what this previous body's owner dreamed of when she was little, but she'd always wanted to be a dancer in her last life. It never panned out. She didn't think it would really pan out in this life either, if she was being honest with herself.

Daryl smirked, giving her body a once over. Inwardly, he chuckled. He didn't really think she looked much like a ballerina dancer. With a huff and a shrug of his shoulders, he gave her a bone, "Huh. Didn't think yah were the type to want to dance those fancy things."

Letting Sophia finish off her bottle, Carol gently turned her daughter in her arms so she was situated stomach facing her chest over her shoulder. Bouncing from one foot to the other, she pursed her lips in thought, "Yeah, I'm too...much of many things now. Plus, I figure that having a kid would make it harder. Anyways, enough about me."

He let out an exasperated laugh, she really wouldn't quit it with this line of questioning, "You sure are persistent. Fine. After bouncing around and not really findin' steady work...Well, I'd want to be something that I could always do. No matter where life takes me, yah know. Like maybe a journeyman of some sort. I hear places always need iron workers. Maybe an electrician or a plumber. People love their lights and love takin' shits indoors. I am also pretty good with cars. Wouldn't mind too much with the thought of becoming some sort of mechanic."

Carol hummed long in the back of her throat before, raising a brow, "I thought you might want to do something with hunting." He certainly had the silent gait of a person that was very used to hunting. Knowing that he wanted something stable and useful made him look even better in her eyes. She had an inkling he'd certainly be more reliable than Ed, at the very least.

He chortled and combed a hand through his hair, "Nah. Mixing work with somethin' you love don't work out." He'd never done that personally, but he'd seen Merle try to mix it enough times to just not want any of those problems.

Sophia let out a loud baby burp that cause both adults to look at her with a bemused expression. Sophia didn't really care though as she snuggled into her mother's shoulder. Both Carol and Daryl looked up at the same time, catching each other's eyes, making an amused smile pull at their lips. Babies were funny sometimes.

Clearing her throat, she gently rubbed Sophia's back, "Well this one is done. Would you like some breakfast?" Her stomach gurgled at the mere mention of food. She inwardly cringed and hoped that he hadn't heard that.

He rose a brow, a smirk inching up his face, "Umm... Sure. Anything I can do to help?" He totally heard her stomach grumble. It wasn't like he wasn't hungry either, but he'd gotten used to those sorts of pains and didn't mind it too much.

With a pep in her step, Carol hurried towards the living room, calling out over her shoulder, "Certainly! Let me just put Sophia down in tah her play pen. What kind of eggs do you like?" She settled her daughter down into a nearby play pen filled with soft toys. Not soon after being put down, Sophia crawl wiggled away, giggling all the while.

As she came back into the kitchen, Daryl hummed out his answer, "Sunny side up."

She hurried about the kitchen and pulled out eggs, bacon, frozen hash browns, fruits, vegetables, and frozen bread in a large basket, "Can you pop these into a bowl over there?" Carol inwardly noted that she needed to also charm the pantry and the fridge, definitely when no one was looking.

Nodding, he helped her place the bread into a nearby pyrex bowl, "Sure. Yer girl sure likes her play pen." Daryl peered over at Sophia giggling and rolling around her playpen. He'd never seen such a happy baby like that. Well, not from his neighborhood, and definitely not from anyone in his childhood.

Carol threw a grin over her shoulder at him, "I know, right? It's a life saver. Alrighty. I just need to fry up these eggs and the bacon. Please pop the bread and hash browns into the oven, so they can be ready in a bit." Picking up a large frying pan with a flourish, she laid down large slabs of bacon before cracking open a couple eggs.

Following her instructions without a question, Daryl did what he could to help. It felt nice being asked to help like this without someone expecting him to screw up. Being actually needed and being thought of as competent enough to do so... This was a new experience that he really liked.

The eggs and bacon sizzled and sputtered on her large frying pan. The bread and hash browns baked away in the oven, their warm hearty scents flowed throughout the house.

His mouth watered as he inhaled the scents of the spread Carol was in the process of making.

An enormous platter of sunny side up eggs, fried ham, piles of hash brown potatoes were soon served up. A tureen of fresh fruit and veggies sat in ice to keep them chilled. A warm basket of bread was set before Daryl. One big enough that it would've kept his family going for a week back when he was little. An elegant pitcher of orange juice sat near him.

Seeing this amount of food in front of him made tears blur at the corners of his eyes. Sniffing slightly and blinking away feelings he didn't want to acknowledge, Daryl inhaled the scents before him. Taking a piece of warm bread from the basket, he served himself a couple slabs of shinning crisp bacon, along with some eggs and fruit. He felt no need for pretentious manners and ripped a chunk off with his teeth. His eyes lit up as the taste hit his tongue, edging him into wolfing down his meal.

Daryl hadn't eaten this well in a row, in years. Living a nomadic life with Merle, wasn't exactly a good way to ensure a person had 3 meals a day, least of all consistently.

Carol shot him a bright grin, as he wolfed down his food. She brought the fresh, warm bread to her nose, inhaling deeply. It smelled rich and slightly sweet, promising a delightful taste. Picking up a spoon, she slid on copious amounts of thick, oily slabs of bacon onto her thick slice of bread. Grease coated her fingers. She served herself some eggs and spooned out the gooey egg yolks. Carol slathered the savory runny mixture onto the spongy toasted white bread.

She chomped off a chunk, stuffing an overly large piece into her mouth. It was soft and warm. The bacon broke over her tongue, perfectly crisp, perfectly salty. The flavor exploded in her mouth, in all the right ways. It reminded her of the breakfasts she used to have in her last life before the world went to shit. Maybe she'd have more breakfasts like this. The pleasant smoothness of the egg yolk blended perfectly with the salty taste of the bacon. She popped a cherry tomato in her mouth after swallowing her mouthful, savoring the cool sweet flavor in her mouth.

A thick yellow egg yolk dripped down his hand, licking up the excess liquid, Daryl darted his eyes up at Carol and murmured, "Thanks for the food. S'good."

Carol's eyes sparkled as she sliced into another piece of bacon, "You're very welcome. I'm glad that you liked it." It was nice cooking for someone else again. She hadn't done that in years, and she was glad that her cooking skills hadn't gotten too rusty.

As they kept munching down their delectable breakfast, the only sounds that could be heard were the scraping of cutlery against porcelain and the sound of Sophia's laughter now and again. It turned out to be the best breakfast Carol and Daryl had recently experienced so far. They didn't know that it would become just one of many of their many happy moments together.

xixixixixixixixix

AN: Thank you to everyone that followed, favorited, read and reviewed this story still especially since the updates aren't as consistent as I'd like them to be. A triple thank you to those that reviewed. You guys are beyond amazing.

Kikari no segaiu: I'm so glad that you liked the previous chapter. I hope that you like this one too. Thank you! I'm not sure when updates will become as regular as I want them to be, but I'm glad that you don't mind that I'm taking forever between chapters.

owlzilla: I'm happy you're enjoying the story so far. Don't be too bummed out. Sure, she wants to use magic less, much like Samantha from bewitched, but she probably won't be able to keep to that promise. It's just way too tantalizing to use magic, no matter how much she wants to conserve her energy. We'll get a peek into that and why that might not be such a good idea in the next chapter.

He's definitely going to be a big help in getting the farm up and running especially since it is quite a large plot of land. And in turn they're going to help him soften his edges, by just being themselves and sincerely kind, which isn't something that he's used to, unfortunately.

In regards as to the enchanted wall, she'll be checking on that in the next chapter. She did make it quite a bit taller, thicker, and made it so that it affected the entire wall surrounding her property.

I'm glad that you're liking the layout and extra tidbits to their new home. That'll definitely be coming up later on in the story. I love the idea of her having a water filtration system along with chickens. Both are definitely going to become helpful in the future.

That is so true! Nothing is more awesome than someone prepared for the worst before it's already too late.

Luthien Faye: Thank you so much! I'm glad you really liked the last chapter. I was nervous about his introduction not quite fitting well enough, or their that their interactions wouldn't be quite right. I hoped you liked this chapter and their interactions thus far.

You're very welcome, and I'm sorry this update took forever.

celia azul: Yeah, I'm really fond of what she did with Ed too.

Evangleline: I'm glad that you really like my stories. I hope that I can keep writing up stories that you like.

Futago no Akuma Shimai: I'm so happy that you love this! I hope that you liked this chapter too.

Guest A: I'm sorry that this update took forever, it was both a really bad bout of writer's block in combination with life and depression that made it really hard to write. Which is kind of sad, because I normally love writing. Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying my other stories too.

Guest B: I hope you liked this story. I'm sorry it took so long.


	8. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven: Deliveries**

Under a dove grey sky, the afternoon sun was a radiant all-seeing eye. Its light crept into every corner, bathing the whole world in a warm glow against the freezing snow-covered property. The sunshine glittered against an endless expanse of a thick blanket of white, shimmering a liquid gold as it stretched towards the distant horizon. Dark pine trees were ink smears against the sky.

The snow crunched under their feet as they surveyed the empty pool behind her house. Birds chirped around them, singing their songs against a chilling wind. Their breaths came out as warm puffs of clouds, briefly stinging their lungs as they breathed in and out.

Daryl raised a brow as he looked down at the dilapidated pool in front of them, "Whatcha want me to do with this?"

He crossed his arms, refusing to shiver because of the biting cold. He was really glad that he still had his old leather jacket from high school. Weather like this tended to bite more than he liked.

Carol brought her hands to her slightly reddening face, the temperature pinching her nose and cheeks. She breathed warm air into her mittened hands. Trying to generate more warmth, she tugged Sophia closer to her chest as her daughter nestled further into her carrier, then bounced from one foot to the other, "I don't want a pool. Don't see the point of them. I kind of wanted to put all that dirt and rocks in it and convert it into the start of a greenhouse. Is that doable?"

She winced internally at her request. It'd be a pinch with magic, but she did hire him to help. Besides, she didn't want to use magic on this when she could use it on something more important. Hopefully, Daryl didn't find this too tedious.

Carol glanced at the tall mountain of dirt and rocks that sat by the pool. It would certainly fill the pool, but it would take a bit of time to do so. Well, at least by hand anyways. Especially in this body.

He scratched at his cheek, a thoughtful frown marred his face, "Mmm. Probably. It will take me a little while though. Never really found a point to pools neither. So, you wanna stay or do you have somethin' else to do?" He'd done worse labor in worse weather, so this wouldn't be too hard. The restlessness in his gut would help too. He couldn't stop moving too long in a new place, it always took him a little while to get comfortable and settled.

His only experiences in swimming were in creeks. It wasn't like his childhood town would let the likes of his family into the community center. He scoffed. He hadn't needed a pool to learn how to swim anyways. In a way, he felt like this would be right. It'd be a waste of time and money with a pool like this if there was a creek nearby.

She smiled at him over her shoulder as she and Sophia turned to walk away, "Yes. Kind of. I'll be right back." Thoughts of how to better protect their new home crossed her mind. She really couldn't put this off.

His frown furrowed further as he picked up a shovel, "Be careful. Snow's deep today." Daryl bit his lip from saying more. He'd just worry silently. It wasn't like he wasn't used to keeping certain thoughts to himself.

Her eyes crinkled shut, dimples pulled her lips further up, "We'll be careful. I promise. Me and Soph will be back in a bit." With a brief wave, they started walking towards their new goal.

Daryl's frown melted away as he blinked back at her kind response. She'd taken his warning seriously and hadn't brushed it off like Merle or other people he'd met. His gut churned and his chest warmed. It was an odd feeling. Nice, certainly, but odd nonetheless.

He nodded before calling out to them as he dug his shovel into the large mountain of soil, "Alright!"

They made their way towards the wall that encircled their entire property. Past tall looming trees, through a dirt path littered with snow, dead leaves, frozen rocks, and gravel. Sunlight leaked through the branches overhead, spilling light and shadows in front of them.

Sophia wriggled further into her baby carrier, totally uninterested in the snow or scenery around her. Carol chuckled under her breath. The temperature regulation charms on their clothes were fairly strong, so it only felt a little cold outside instead of actual -4 degrees it was. Although, it didn't quite help with any uncovered skin, like her face.

Carol checked on the 8-foot tall wall. It was some sort of stone concrete after she'd worked her magic the first time. Looking here and there to make sure that the coast was clear, she flicked her wrist towards the wall. Concrete spikes popped up all along the top of the wall. Inwardly, she smirked. If there were to be raiders or monsters of some sort in the future, she knew that they'd be skewered if they got past the first volley of enchantments.

Taking in a cold breath that stung her lungs, she concentrated and whispered a charm under her breath. The wall shimmered blue for a moment. Her eyes lit up, delight making her grin reach her eyes. Now the wall would be unbreakable and the property wouldn't be able to be seen by anything hostile, animal or person. She knew that it was a bit much, but it was always better to be over-prepared than underprepared. Happy that she'd accomplished her goal, she clapped her hands, making her little girl giggle.

Tracing her eyes at the wall in front of them, she nodded and smiled. They'd be safer this way, that's for certain. Trudging through the snow, they made it back to the back of their house as the sun slowly dipped down the sky.

At that point, Daryl had miraculously filled up about half of the pool. She figured it would be filled tomorrow at the rate he was going. Squinting at him, she noted that he was barely breaking a sweat. Was it perhaps the cold, or was this not as back-breaking as she had assumed? Either way, she was happy he wasn't laboring too hard.

She raised her hand, a grin staining her face, "Hey. You wanna go inside?"

Huffing and wiping his arm across his slightly sweating forehead, he stabbed the shovel into the dirt, "Sure. Could use a break right about now. You finish whatever you were gonna do?"

His breaths were even, and even though he was sweating, it was more to do with the excess heat he was currently generating rather than exhaustion setting in. Daryl shot her a curious look. Inwardly, he wondered what his new boss had been up to. Surely, she wasn't already laying down traps and snares, could she? He shook that thought away.

Carol smoothed her daughter's downy hair, receiving a cooing smile in return. She nodded as they meandered closer to him, "Mhmm. We just checked up on the wall around the property. Didn't want anything unsavory managing to sneak in here."

She didn't want to scare him off with her worries about raiders and monsters. It wasn't like those things were real right now, but the thought and fear of them constantly itched at the back of her mind. Like a tree branch constantly scratching a windowpane.

He leaned on the shovel and tilted his head. His breath puffed out of him in a warm cloud as he hummed, "Ah. Gotcha. Safety is key. Everything turn out okay?"

This was a rather large plot of land, who knows what kind of critters could eat a little lady and her babe just wandering around the woods. Wolves and bears flashed across his mind. Concern flitted across his face before he could wrestle the feeling down.

She spotted the worry that crossed his face, gently patting his arm, she shot him a reassuring look, "Yup. All solid all the way around." And enchanted like crazy, went unsaid.

A grin sprouted on his face, his eyes danced in the waning light, "Huh. Should be helpful when I help yah learn how to hunt some critters later on."

Carol licked her lips, bouncing slightly on her heels, "You will?" Sophia whined slightly, nuzzling her mother. She looked down at her little girl before glancing at her watch. Damn. She was late in feeding her kid.

Daryl inched over and peeked at the little girl before a blase reply popped past his lips, "Yup."

Shooting him a grateful look, she smiled, "Thank you, Daryl."

He flushed slightly before shrugging, "Don't worry about it. You wanna head back in now?"

It always felt weird whenever people thanked him. He wondered if this was something he was going to have to get used to with his new boss. He didn't hate it.

Carol bit her lip and nodded, "Yeah. This one is getting hungry."

And with that they moseyed back into the house, soon all warmed back up and off doing their projects. Sophia sucked on a warm bottle of milk in her high chair, while Carol worked in and around the kitchen making sandwiches for lunch.

Daryl went around through the house, reconnecting everything that would make the house self-sufficient energy-wise, and very much off the grid. She'd idly mentioned it when they were walking back in, but he took it as request and a challenge. Not that much of a challenge though, it wasn't that hard just reconnecting things.

With a flourish, she finished making a plate of roast beef sandwiches. While she was wiping down the counters, Carol inwardly noted that the house could probably use a water filtration system in case grid water access ever went down. That'd be a project for another day. She'd have to mention it to Daryl though. It could probably be something else that he could help her with.

Making sure that the coast was clear, Carol shot her daughter a wink before waving her hand in front of the pantry door. Ducking her head into the pantry for a moment, Carol bounced back out with a smug smile smeared on her face. Now her pantry was bigger than it was on the inside and had a stasis applied in it. It would be able to fit all of the incoming supplies, and she wouldn't have to worry about anything ever degrading. She deftly ignored the slight sting of weariness that sparked through her.

With a cursory look around her once more, she took in a deep breath. Her heart thudded in her chest, echoing in her ears as she narrowed her eyes. Carol snapped her fingers at the fridge. It glowed blue for a moment before fading away.

Her chest constricted for a moment, as a brush of fatigue clung to her. Strong charms ate away at more magic in her than simple conjuration again and again. She'd have to keep a note of that. Well, she'd try anyway. At least now, the fridge would have an ever cooling charm, was bigger on the inside, and even had a stasis charm layered over it all. Her bones might start to feel tired from these charms, but it was worth it since now none of their food, fresh or otherwise, would go bad. Worth it.

She plucked her daughter out of her high chair, the empty baby bottle clattering onto her high chair table with a clank. Carol ignored it and sat her daughter down into her playpen. Plopping down to sit beside the playpen, she felt the cold wooden floorboards against her hands. Subtly glancing for any sign of Daryl, she bit her lips and hummed under her breath. A wave of blue surged through the floors for a second, before she was slammed with an even greater fatigue. A deep yawn overcame her. Her eyelids felt heavy. Oh well. At least now the floors would always be temperature regulated.

Quiet footfalls made her ears perk up, she swiveled her head towards the sound. Daryl came in through the living room, his brow slightly raised, "You okay?" The last time he'd checked on her, she hadn't looked this tired or grey. Had she caught a cold?

She smothered a yawn behind her hand, and shot him her best reassuring look, "Mhmm. Just tired. I'll be fine." Magic would be better if it didn't come with such a shitty consequence in this world. Maybe she could make some sort of magic batteries that could help with this problem.

He shuffled closer and squatted down to her eye level, concern visibly painted on his face. He pursed his lips, "You sure you're doing okay?"

With a lazy grin, she waved away his worry, "Yup. Don't worry about it. I'll be okay. Are you doing okay?"

Taking in a wary breath, he straightened up and cracked his back, "Yeah. Finished hooking up all the off the grid hookups. House should be ready to go off-grid at any time now."

He didn't believe that she was quite alright, but he'd respect his boss's space. It wasn't his place to question it, anyways. His conscience nagged at him, however, to look further into it. He didn't want her passing out just because her pride stopped her from asking for his help. Such a nice lady didn't deserve that.

Closing her eyes and leaning her head against Sophia's netted playpen, she happily hummed, "Mhmm, thank you. I appreciate your help. Oh! Sandwiches are done, by the way. It's roast beef. Oh and, do you think you could help me set up a water filtration system once I get one? It's always good to have a backup system just in case."

He snorted out a laugh at her lazy smile, his cheeks pinked slightly at her praise, "Thanks, and probably."

He was happy that she was aware of how things could turn ugly at any moment. If he'd grown up with more backup plans, he doubted that they would've had to grow up in poverty.

Before he could drop down into the dark thoughts of his childhood, the intercom beeped long and loud.

He glanced at the light that suddenly blinked by the door, "You expecting someone?"

With a grunt, she got up, and shook her head, "I don't think so." Carol cautiously walked over to the intercom system and peered at the security camera.

A relieved breath escaped her, "Ohhh. It's just the farmhand, Otis, from the Greene farm a couple towns over. They're the only farm big enough to sell animals nearby. It looks like he's here with the animals and his wife. A couple of days early, but I guess that's okay."

Daryl made a slight face, his shoulders slumped slightly, "Huh. Guess lunch will have to wait." He could feel his gut gurgle, but it wasn't something he wasn't used to.

Carol bit her lip, guilt weighing her shoulders down, "I'm sorry."

Daryl did his best to nonchalantly wave away his boss's guilt, "Nah. S'okay."

The intercom buzzed a litter longer before a deep twanging baritone called out, "Hello! We gotta delivery for a Ms. Masen here!"

With a sheepish smile, she pressed the buzzer to let them in and hollered through the intercom, "Hey! I'll let y'all in."

Otis's voice crackled on the other end, "Thank you, ma'am."

Taking a glance back at her penned in baby, she pursed her lips, "Hey, I just gotta settle Soph down for a nap, and then I'll be right there to give y'all a hand. S'that okay?"

Daryl shrugged before raising his brow, "Should be a little while anyway. Your drive is quite a way up."

Carol snorted out a laugh and waved her hand in a blase manner, "Yeah, it's one of the reasons why I like this place."

Daryl's eyebrow rose further at that declaration. While his new boss bundled up her kid, making her all cozy like for a nap, he made his way to the kitchen. Swiping up a warm fresh sandwich, he leaned against the counter and chomped out a bite. What Carol said made his curiosity prickle. What did she mean?

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In no time at all, Sophia was tucked away into her room snoozing away. She was currently a napping champion, and Carol thanked God that was the case. In her other life, her kid had been a terrible napper.

Adjusting the baby monitor stuck onto her jeans, she smoothed down her shirt. Her stomach twitched and rolled. New people made her somewhat nervous still. Plastering a pleasant grin on her face she readied herself at the front door.

A thoughtful frown furrowed its way onto Daryl's face. Taking in Carol's jittery energy, comprehension bloomed on his face. A small slow understanding smile tugged at his lips. It was good to know that his new boss wasn't as perfect as he had originally thought. She was just as human and nervous as him when it came to new folks, and for some reason that made him feel closer to her.

Firm knocks in a pattern that reminded her of a Christmas song, rang out. With a deep relaxing breath, Carol nodded to herself before gently prying open her front door. The afternoon light blinded her for a moment, but after blinking away the light and shading her eyes she got a better look at Otis and his wife.

Against the bleached cold landscape, they stood out in the weathered and dirtied farm clothes. Both seemed like stout sturdy people, taller than she would've imagined actually.

Otis was rather rotund and slightly gruff looking with his shining bald head and his dark full beard. He did look strong enough to be working on a farm though even with the excess weight. Dark kind eyes crinkled slightly as he gave her a sheepish smile.

His wife wasn't as round as he was, but she looked equally as strong. Bright blue eyes took in Carol's form, no judgment, but filled with curiosity. Ringlets of bright blond curls escaped from her dark green wool hat.

Both looked pale under the winter sun, their cheeks and eyes the only flash of color against the winter background.

The cold air stung Carol's lungs as she took in a breath, and managed a wary welcoming grin, "Hello there. I'm Carol Masen. How'd yah do?"

Patricia let out a loud laugh, scattering inky crows into the sky. A genuine grin gathered onto her face, wrinkling the sides of her eyes, "I'm Patricia McNeill, and this is my husband Otis. He's the ranch foreman from the Greene Farm. We've brought up your animals."

Otis wrung his well-worn hat in his hands and nodded down at Carol, "Nice to meet yah, Ms. Masen. We got all of em here. Flame the mare; she's a chestnut female horse with a white diamond on her forehead. Good and strong and can be bred if you wanted. Three big Holstein-Friesian cows, eight Rhode Island Red chickens, an Alpine goat, four merino sheep, and four American Yorkshire pigs."

Carol blinked back slightly surprised at the onslaught of information. Slowly nodding she widened open the door and gestures for them to come inside, "Oh! That's great. Come on in. Come on in. Please, before you both catch your death from the cold. This is Daryl." She indicated to Daryl with a nudge of her head.

Daryl gave the newcomers a quick once over before grunting out, "Hi."

Otis rubbed at his neck and chuckled as they stomped their feet. The snow slushed onto the floor with only a couple taps, "Nice to meet both you folks."

Patricia nodded and flipped out a note pad. She flipped through a couple pages and spouted out in a matter of fact tone, "Umm... Just to add to what my husband said earlier... The cows should produce about 2900 gallons of milk per lactation cycle. Each of the chickens can lay about 260 eggs per year; more or less depending on the chicken. You can get quite a bit of milk from the goat; 2134 pounds per lactation cycle. The merino sheep you picked out can give you about forty pounds of good quality wool per sheering cycle. And the pigs, they're good pigs. Good meat producers that can give you a high percentage of lean meat on the carcass. Not too much back fat though. If you have any questions, we can answer em."

Otis coughed into his hand, a sheepish look reddened his cheeks, "And, not to buttin' into your business, but with all these animals you might want a sheepdog. They're a good herding breed if you wanted your farm animals to roam around later in the warmer seasons. I know Greene's dog, Mary, just had a litter last week. Sheepdog mixed with a Labrador. They're cute as buttons and worth it for a hundred bucks a pop."

Carol reeled slightly and tugged on an awkward grin, "Huh. That was all informative. Thanks. And, I'll think about getting a dog."

During their information overload, Daryl had slunk up behind Carol. Once the ranch hand couple had finished, he murmured, "Huh. That's a lot of animals needin' a lotta care."

Carol turned her head and looked up at him over her shoulder, "Yup. I did buy a farm. Think we can manage taking care of em' between the two of us?"

He pursed his lips, a thoughtful frown furrowed his brow. A beat of silence passed between them before he shrugged, "Maybe. Won't say that I won't work my ass off. It's a lotta animals and there are probably other things to take account of on the farm. 'Specially come spring and summer, like crops, yeah?"

Carol bit her lip and nodded, "Yup."

A deep sigh escaped him, "Well, let's see for a bit then. If it's too much fer me, then yah may need another helpin' hand."

Her eyes grew determined, "Alright. I think we can do it though." Inwardly, she schemed.

Carol plotted on charming these animals, and the feeders for them. Charms that wouldn't hurt them mind you, but it would make them easier to take care of. Magic would be coming to the rescue again. With that in mind, she decided there and then to use magic more rather than less.

Guilt bubbled up in her belly at that thought. She had initially wanted to use magic for important things rather than just making her life easier. However, it was way too alluring to use right now, especially since they were just starting. She'd try giving restraint another go later.

Soon enough they helped one another coral the animals towards their respective new homes, Otis and his wife helping them with silent smiles. Searching a little further away from the house, they found two large identical barns.

The first barn was just behind a row of tall dark swaying pine trees. The boughs glistened with frost; the air hung silent and cold. As they passed by the first barn, Carol let her hand linger on its wooden panels for just a second. The others didn't catch sight of the light blue sheen it had taken on for a moment.

Across the yard was another barn for animals, feed and machinery. Off to the side, there was a large fancy-looking chicken coop. Upon closer inspection, they were welcomed by impressive red walls of pristine wooden planks. Carol pushed open the door, hearing the creak of the wood. She paused as they hurried in wanting to corral the animals into a warm and dry place as soon as possible. Not once did they notice how her hand seemed to carve something into the door. The runes glowed blue before fading away.

Once they all entered through the small entrance by the barn doors, they found that shafts of light streamed through the it's stained glass windows. Dust swirled and danced in the white beams of fading sunshine, making the loose straw covering the concrete floor look golden. A narrow wooden runged ladder led up to a hayloft. Several bales of hay and straw were piled onto one another. Straw bales were held tight by orange twin while cloth-covered dusty hay and straw. Unused stalls were filled with many implements; buckets, pitchforks, shovels, curry combs and the like.

In no time at all, the animals were all put away into their new respective homes. Cows mooed quietly in one corner while in the other corner came the squeals and snorts of fat pigs. The goat bleated now and again, chewing on some hay, as the sheep huddled together only bleating now and again.

As they exited the barn, the silence around them was broken by the clucking of the chickens getting comfortable in their new home. They thanked the McNeills and headed back to the house. After everything was said and done, the only remnants of the farmhand and his wife were the deep tire tracks in the snow.

Carol could feel the fatigue weighing down on her like a bag of bricks. Her vision blurred now and again, making her steps stumble slightly. Before she could gather any coherent thoughts on what was happening, she'd stumbled onto the couch, her world blurring in and out of darkness.

Hearing the slight commotion, Daryl popped his head in through the archway connecting the hallway and the living room. With a raised brow, he stared at his boss's still snoozing form, "Ms. Masen? Boss? ...Carol?"

A deep frown furrowed across his forehead as he softly stepped into the living room to Carol's unmoving body, "Hey. Hey? Are you okay?"

Daryl's worried face was the last image Carol saw before darkness greeted her. As she slowly lost the battle against the looming darkness and the dizzying fatigue, she could faintly hear Sophia's cries. She'd used up too much magic today. Hopefully, Daryl could take care of Sophia because she'd screwed up this time.

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AN: Thank you to everyone that followed, favorited, read and reviewed this story. A quadruple thank you to those that reviewed. Y'all are splendiferous, and help give me the push to try and update even when my muse is fickle and fleeting.

Celia azul: I'm glad that you liked that scene. His flashbacks to his childhood will be tinged with that kind of sadness. I think he's gonna learn a lot from Carol too. c:

Luthein Faye: I'm so happy that you loved it. A puppy or some sort of dog is certainly in their future, thank you for the suggestion. If you have a name in mind, I'll think about that too. I hope that you liked this chapter. :D

HeavenHelpTheDoctor: Thank you. My muse has been fleeting as of late, but I don't want to give up on any of my stories so they end up getting updated after large gaps in time.

Williamshakespeares37playspoet: Thank you! I hope you loved this chapter too.

Anmak: Thank you. I'm glad you love it so far.

Yucky cross: I hope you like this chapter.

Bluebox86: Thank you. I'm happy to know that you love this story. I'm glad that all the characters seem both believable, sweet, and three dimensional.

Orike: I hope you liked this chapter.


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